Someone to Keep Him Company
by gw
Summary: Harry must stay at Hogwarts for the summer for his own protection, but a friend is permitted to stay there with him. What will they do together, and how will their relationship change? I'm trying to pace things realistically. Fluffy. HPHG
1. A concession

Someone to Keep Him Company

Author's notes

1. This fic probably fits best between Harry's third and fourth years.

2. Don't be too concerned about the timing though, since no matter when it happens, it will contradict Rowling's account of Harry's summer, and I fully intend to engineer a pairing that Rowling doesn't support. That's one of the appeals of fanfic, the ability to "tweak" things that the we aren't content with in the canon. :)

3. There are a few anachronisms (Death Eaters, "accio"). I intend to eventually fix them. If you notice another one, please put it in a review.

4. There are a few factual errors (perpetual fire in the common room, the lake shore being between the castle and Hagrid's hut, Lucius Malfoy's status as a school governor, a railroad station in Hogsmeade). I intend to eventually fix them. If you notice another one, please put it in a review.

5. My style is to use short chapters (around 1000-1500 words) that each move the plot forward with very few superfluous details. I hope to transition to longer chapters in the future, as my writing improves and time allows.

6. I am conservative. I'm saving the kissing scene for a meaningful moment. Don't expect much more intimacy than that.

7. I plan to develop things slowly in an attempt to be somewhat realistic. However, later chapters will be set further ahead in the summer to spare my readers the repetitive, mundane details of daily life.

8. This is the first fanfic I've ever uploaded for public viewing. I know my writing could use a lot of improvement. Constructive criticism is welcome.

9. I obviously don't own the Harry Potter canon and am not making any financial profit from this; if you think otherwise, you're a mountain troll.

Chapter 1

Harry stepped into Professor Dumbledore's office with trepidation. It seemed that he found himself here all too often to receive bad news, and somehow he doubted this time would be any different. Professor McGonagall had brought him here straight from the Gryffindor table where he was eating breakfast, earning a glare from Hermione as if to ask, "How many points have you lost us _this_ time?". Final exams were upon them, and it looked like Gryffindor was going to lose the house cup this year.

The first thing Harry noticed was that Fawkes, the headmaster's pet phoenix, was gone. He'd hoped to see that magnificent bird again. The second thing he noticed, was that Dumbledore hadn't offered any sweets like he usually did.

McGonagall took a seat in front of the desk.

"Sit down, Harry."

Harry slowly did as he was told, and braced himself for the worst. Had he earned himself an expulsion for that incident in Potions yesterday?

Dumbledore sat down behind his very cluttered desk and steepled his fingers. "I'm afraid there's no easy way to say this, Harry. Last night, your foster parents' home on Privet Drive was visited by Voldemort's Death Eaters. I hasten to add that your family is safe for the moment...from all appearances, they were only there to intimidate." He let that sink in.

Harry's eyes widened at the news. God only knew how the Dursleys were reacting to this, but he could venture a guess. He dreaded going back for the summer. Not only because he'd be away from his friends again, not only because he'd have to worry about the house being watched by Voldemort's henchmen, but also because now he was sure to be locked in his room for the whole summer for his own protection. To say nothing about the attitude his aunt and uncle would take towards him for "involving them in this bloody magic business".

Harry sighed. Again with Voldemort...didn't he ever give up? "That might explain my scar acting up again last night. I was going to tell you about that...I suppose there's more?"

Dumbledore glanced up at McGonagall and nodded to her.

She turned to face Harry. "We don't think it's safe for you to return home this summer."

Harry blinked. _This_ was certainly an interesting development; his prospects for having a pleasant summer just increased a hundredfold! But given the graveness of the situation, he thought it prudent to contain his initial gut reaction. "Well, I never really considered that my 'home'. So where will I stay? With the Weasleys?" He had fond memories of staying at the Burrow just before his second year. He even thought Ginny was somewhat cute, though he'd never admit it.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry, but right now I can think of no safer place for you to be...than at Hogwarts, until we know what Voldemort is planning. I seriously doubt he will stop at intimidation. I'm going to make arrangements for you to stay here, in Gryffindor tower, while the school is out of session."

So much for having a pleasant summer. Harry slumped in his seat. "Then...I'll be all alone?"

McGonagall spoke up. "There will always be some staff on hand, of course. We'll be able to provide assistance with your summer homework. You will be able to visit Hagrid as often as you like. You will also have access to the library, and supervised visits to Hogsmeade if we deem it safe. And, you'll be able to use and practice magic while on school grounds."

As much as he liked Hagrid, Harry was still feeling quite depressed. "No offense, but forgive me if I don't seem enthusiastic about those privileges. I'm going to be miserable until start of term."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but there's not much else we can offer you." To her credit, McGonagall seemed genuinely sympathetic.

Dumbledore raised his hand to Minerva, a glint in his eyes. "Harry, would you be more agreeable if we allowed one of your friends to stay in the tower with you?"

Harry blinked. Could he convince Ron to stay with him? That would make the summer bearable. Or maybe even Neville? He had a lot in common with Harry, and the two got along well together. Somehow Harry lacked confidence in his powers of persuasion regarding this, but it would be worth a try. But Dumbledore was obviously making a good faith effort to address Harry's needs and safety. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad here.

"All right, I'll go along with this. Not that I think I have much of a choice in the matter, but I appreciate that you're doing what you think is in my best interests."

McGonagall gave an approving nod. "I must say, I'm impressed by your acceptance of this. As your head of house, I will be on-site whenever Professor Dumbledore is not here, and of course you may come to see either of us if you have any concerns."

Dumbledore added, "I will contact the Dursleys. You will have to let us know as soon as possible who you've invited to stay with you, so I can draft the appropriate papers."

Harry nodded. "Is there anything else?"

Dumbledore glanced up at Minerva, then returned his attention to Harry. "Yes, be warned that one of the school governors is not likely to be impressed by your arrangement. He may very well make an unwelcome visit."

Harry immediately knew who he meant. "Lucius Malfoy."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Technically, he's not permitted to confront a student without myself or their head of house present, so I think you'll be fine. However, don't let your guard down. I expect he will attempt to have you removed, but I have considerable pull on the board and will do everything I can to prevent him from succeeding."

Harry stood up. "Thanks for the warning. I'll get back to you as soon as possible with a name." He nodded to Professor McGonagall, then turned around and left the office.


	2. An unexpected offer

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 2

After a grueling day of exams, Harry finally had a chance to relax with his housemates in the Gryffindor common room. Ron was seated beside him on a sofa, looking relieved to be done with their herbology final. Neville was seated in an armchair, facing the two, flipping through a notebook.

"How do you think you did, Ron?"

"I think I got monkshood confused with wolfsbane again..."

Harry chuckled. "They're the same thing, Ron."

"They are? Oh bloody hell..." Ron facepalmed.

"Even /I/ remember that," Neville commented.

Harry leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands together while looking down at his shoes. Now was as good a time as any to ask, he figured. "Listen, there's something I need to tell you." He spoke softly so only those next to him could hear.

Ron and Neville sensed some concern in Harry's voice, and huddled closer to him.

"Something wrong?", Ron was the first to ask.

Harry nodded. "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort is planning something, after giving my aunt and uncle a good scare last night. He's arranging for me to stay at Hogwarts for the summer for my own protection." He looked up to see how his friends reacted to the news.

Both had a look of shock on their faces.

"Harry," Neville began. "That's awful. I mean, Hogwarts is a fun place, all things considered, but in the summer--it would be a ghost school." He paused, catching his poor choice of words. "You know what I mean. You'll be bored to death!" He caught himself again. Feeling insensitive, he gritted his teeth. "I mean, you'll be bored to /tears/!"

Ron concurred. "It would be worse than detention. For three bloody months! What would you do with all your time? Scrub Snape's cauldrons?" He imagined their Potions instructor assigning all manner of menial tasks to poor Harry.

Harry sighed. "I don't know. But, Dumbledore said I could have a friend stay here with me. So I won't be all alone, you know." He looked up at Ron and Neville, with some hope in his eyes. "But I get the impression neither of you would want to take me up on that offer."

"Sorry, Harry," Neville answered. "But my grandmother needs me this summer to help around the house." He and Harry both turned to face Ron.

Ron paused to think. "You're my best friend, Harry, and we've been through more together than any two Hogwarts students deserve to be. But...I don't think I could last the whole summer. Not here. I'm used to being part of a big family, you know." He patted Harry on the shoulder. "I hope you understand and don't think I'm a huge git turning my back on you."

Harry nodded. "I understand--I know it's a lot to ask. Don't worry about me, I'll find someone. Thanks anyway, you two. I might try asking Seamus..." At that, Harry stood up and walked up the stairs to their shared dorm room.

scene change

Harry hadn't asked anyone else since Seamus gave his rejection, instead deciding to take a nap. Unfortunately, that ran longer than he intended. Now he was awake and feeling rested, while everyone else was asleep, anticipating the next day's exams.

Feeling hungry since he'd skipped dinner, he rolled off his four-poster bed and changed into pajamas, then walked back down to the common room in the hopes of finding a snack in the cupboard.

When he got to the foot of the stairs, he saw he wasn't the only one awake. Someone was curled up by the fireplace with their back facing the staircase, and a book open on the floor in front of them. Cramming, no doubt.

Harry grabbed a couple of treats that Ron's mother had sent them, sortof like granola bars, before wandering over to the fireplace.

"Hermione?"

The girl looked up, startled. "Harry? What are you doing up so late?"

Harry sat down beside her, and offered one of the bars, which she readily accepted.

"I napped a bit too long, and now my brain thinks it's time for breakfast." He looked down at the book she was flipping through. "You're the last person I'd expect to see cramming..."

"I'm not cramming."

"What do you call this, then?

"Reading ahead. This is /next year's/ Transfiguration textbook. McGonagall loaned it to me."

Harry blinked. "Hermione. You've got to loosen up a bit!"

"Well pardon me for trying to stay on top of things!" She slammed the book shut and moved to get up.

Cringing, Harry quickly tried to undo the damage. "I--I'm sorry, Hermione. Please don't go."

Hermione hesitated, and adopted a calmer tone of voice. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. But it's getting really late, anyway." She considered his request for a moment. "Oh, what's a few more minutes?" She sat back down again, facing Harry. "Ron told me everything."

Harry nodded. "I figured he would."

"So, have you found someone to stay here with you yet?"

Harry shook his head. "I asked Ron, Neville, and Seamus. I'll probably ask Dean next...if he says no, I'll try to find someone in the prior year. But not Colin..."

"Aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Huh?" Harry started counting on his fingers as he rattled off names of all the boys in their year and the prior one. "I don't think so."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly. Did it ever occur to you to ask /me/? Or do you think I talk too much?"

Harry was taken aback. "But you're a...and I'm..."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Brilliant, Harry."

Harry didn't know what to think. Granted, if he were to expand his search to include the fairer half of Gryffindor, Hermione would be at the top of his (admittedly short) list. He was fairly comfortable around her, given the years they hung out together with Ron.

"Are you seriously offering?"

"Yes. My parents are going to be taking a trip abroad so they can attend a symposium on dentistry, and they're planning a vacation immediately afterward. I don't particularly want to go with them, and I'm not looking forward to being home alone for most of the summer, either. Besides, someone has to keep you out of trouble. Why not me?"

Harry smiled for the first time that day. "All right, if you're willing, I really appreciate it. How soon can you get permission from your parents?"

Hermione took another bite, and chewed while working something out in her head. She swallowed and dusted off her hands, moving to get up again. "I'll owl them tonight. I should have an answer by noon tomorrow."

"You're a life saver, Hermione."

"So I've been told. Goodnight, Harry." 


	3. A few extra rules

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 3

After finishing his late-night snack, Harry climbed the spiral staircase and returned to bed.

As he lay there, he realized there were a few more reasons why Hermione was well-suited for this. First, being the bookworm that she is, she would certainly enjoy having access to the library over the summer. Second, there was probably nobody McGonagall trusted more to be able to roam the school unsupervised. Third, assuming they studied together, they could breeze through all of their summer homework. Fourth, he knew that Hagrid would especially enjoy having Hermione as a guest for when they visited him.

scene change

Their Potions exam, easily the worst of them all, was scheduled for the following morning. Afterward, the Gryffindors voiced their complaints amongst themselves over lunch at their table in the Great Hall.

"I swear," Hermione began, "Half the questions were ambiguous if not misleading."

Neville added, "Did anyone else notice that all the students who finished early happened to be Slytherin?"

"No, I was too busy trying to make sense of the bloody questions," Ron answered.

Harry chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if their version of the test was multiple choice. It wouldn't be the first time Snape gave them an advantage over us." He quickly thought to glance up at the head table to make certain the aforementioned professor was seated there instead of standing behind him. He relaxed a bit after that.

Soon a swarm of owls flocked overhead, dropping envelopes and packages to their recipients with great precision.

Harry and Ron looked up at Hermione with interest as an envelope dropped between her glass and plate.

She opened it and read the short letter inside, then smiled and handed it across the table to Harry.

Harry quickly read the letter.

Ron leaned over. "Who's it from? What's it say?"

"Hermione's parents gave her permission."

Ron blinked. "Permission for what?"

"Oh. Um. Remember yesterday when I told you about Dumbledore's plans for my summer vacation?"

"What? You asked /her?"

Harry carefully folded and pocketed the letter. "Well, technically, I didn't. She volunteered."

Hermione looked over at Ron. "You're not jealous or anything, are you?" 

Ron looked back at Hermione, not quite certain of how he felt. "No, I'm just..."

"Yes?"

"Surprised is all," Ron managed to say, staring down at his food.

"Are you sure that's all it is?"

Ron hesitantly nodded, saying nothing.

"It's settled, then," Hermione smiled. "Do you need me to come with you to Professor Dumbledore's office, Harry?"

"I don't think so. McGonagall will probably meet with us later to lay down some ground rules, though."

Hermione nodded. "I'd expect as much."

After finishing his meal, Harry went up to Dumbledore's office.

scene change

"Good afternoon, Harry."

"Hello, Professor." He noticed that Fawkes was back, and walked over to his perch to pet him. "I have a note from Hermione's parents..." He paused to fish it out of a pocket on the inside of his robe.

Dumbledore accepted it with a quizzical look on his face. "Miss Granger?" He opened it and read it, then sat down and stroked his beard. "Have a lemon drop, Harry."

"Oh, thanks." Harry picked one out of a dish sitting atop a tall stack of old books.

The headmaster set the letter down on his desk and removed his half-moon spectacles. "I must admit that I hadn't considered the possibility of you inviting someone who didn't share your dormitory room."

"Is there a problem with Hermione, then?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, Harry. I think she is an excellent choice. I will inform Professor McGonagall, assuming you haven't already, and make further arrangements."

"Thanks, Professor. I've got to get to my charms exam now..."

Dumbledore nodded and ushered him off with a wave of his hand. "Good luck, Harry."

scene change

As they were finishing dinner in the Great Hall later that day, McGonagall stopped by the Gryffindor table. "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, could I have a word with you in my office when you're done here?"

"Of course, Professor," Harry and Hermione responded at the same time.

Minerva had a neutral expression (well, as neutral as she could manage, anyway) as she left the room and made her way to her office.

Some other students who didn't know what it was all about assumed they were in trouble for something. As soon as McGonagall was out of sight, they let out a collective "Ooooooh!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, just shut up! It's not what you think!"

Harry figured it would be best if as few people as possible knew what was going on, then realized Hermione felt the same way when she didn't offer an explanation to protect her reputation.

Even Ron didn't say anything in Hermione's defense.

Harry tried to break the silence. "Charms exam wasn't too bad."

Ron nodded. "I noticed Flitwick looked impressed when Hermione turned in the written portion and he started grading it."

Harry shrugged. "You'd think by now he'd be accustomed to her acing every test."

"Yeah," Ron nodded in agreement.

Hermione looked a bit embarrassed.

Harry chuckled. "Well, it's true, you know. You'd give any Ravenclaw a run for their money."

At that, Hermione was truly blushing, and trying to conceal it by looking down at her now-empty plate. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, Harry," she announced, trying to change the subject.

"All right." Harry stood up, followed by Hermione, and the two departed.

scene change

"Ah, there you are. Please close the door behind you," McGonagall said as she gestured for the two to come inside.

They sat down in front of the desk, bracing themselves for a plethora of rules.

McGonagall spent a moment looking at each of them in turn. Harry was starting to think that she didn't approve of this arrangement.

"While you're staying here over the summer, I expect you to follow the normal school rules, with a few changes."

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"First, there is to be no flying around on broomsticks, not even for Quidditch practice."

"Second, whenever you are outside the tower, you are to be together at all times. That way if either of you gets hurt, the other can get help. It will also be good to have a witness should Lucius Malfoy make an appearance."

"Third, you are not to leave the school grounds without staff supervision--we cannot risk having you wander outside the anti-apparating barrier alone. Additionally, the staff member looking after you cannot be Mister Filch or Professor Hagrid."

Hermione's eyes widened, not liking that Hagrid was being discriminated against. "Pardon me, but I don't understand why Hagrid--"

McGonagall interrupted. "I'm afraid I cannot explain the reasoning behind that stipulation. It is by Professor Dumbledore's order and is to be held in confidence."

Hermione reluctantly nodded.

"I may also make other changes on an as-needed basis. Do you have any questions?"

Harry looked to Hermione, then spoke up. "Do we have to wear our school uniforms?"

McGonagall thought for a moment. "Only when you leave the common room on days that we have special visitors. I will tell you in advance when that is the case."

"What do you mean by 'special visitors'?"

"The board of governors may convene here. We also host guests from other wizarding schools on occassion."

"That sounds reasonable," Harry admitted.

"Good. Mr. Potter, would you please step outside so I can speak with Miss Granger for a moment in private?"

"All right. Thank you, Professor." Harry left the room and shut the door behind him.

On his way back to the common room, he wondered what McGonagall might possibly be saying to Hermione. He'd have to remember to ask about it later. 


	4. A promise

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 4

A few days later, after the students had had their final breakfast in the Great Hall, Harry sat on his bed while his roommates finished packing their suitcases and trunks.

"Goodbye, mates. See you in three months..."

"Aren't you coming to the common room to say your farewells?", Ron asked.

"No. I'd prefer to have as few people as possible know that we're staying behind...though I'm sure rumors will begin flying soon after the train leaves. With my luck, It'll probably be all over tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet..."

"All right. We promise we won't say a word, then," Ron announced, and the others nodded in agreement.

"You'll write to us, won't you?"

"Of course I will. I write to you every summer, don't I?"

"Thanks, Ron. It means a lot."

"Try to stay out of trouble," Ron called back as he went downstairs.

"Good luck, Harry," Neville said as he followed Ron.

"Don't let Snape ruin your summer," said Seamus as he turned to leave.

Dean was the last to go. "Take care," was all he had to say.

Harry found himself all alone, knowing it would be a short while before it was safe to venture downstairs if he wanted to avoid being spotted by anyone (and seen without his belongings ready to board the train).

(scene change)

He waited until the train was scheduled to depart (11:00), to err on the safe side, and changed into something more comfortable. As he climbed down the spiral staircase back to the common room, he found Hermione alone in one of the armchairs, reading from a thick book.

Harry sat down opposite her on the same sofa he'd been in when he explained his predicament to Ron and Neville. Hermione was also dressed casually. Harry could determine that her book was the same Transfiguration text he'd caught her reading before, only now she was much further along in it.

"Interesting reading?", he asked, immediately finding the question inane and wishing he'd said something else. Obviously, Hermione found just about everything interesting.

She mumbled, "Mmmhmm," and kept on reading.

"You know, we could practice the spells in that book this summer," Harry offered, trying to generate some ideas for things to do, if not start a conversation.

"We can't. The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Magic should be in force by now." Her eyes were still glued to the words in front of her.

"We're exempted as long as we're on school grounds--it doesn't matter that school's out of session. McGonagall told me so...sorry if I forgot to mention it."

"What?" That certainly caught Hermione's attention. She looked up at Harry, her eyes as big as saucers. "You're not serious."

"I wouldn't lie to you, Hermione."

Hermione fell silent, thinking, still presenting that deer-in-headlights look. It was an unusual sight, and somewhat endearing.

Harry couldn't help but smirk.

"Do you know what this means!"

"Umm...no, but you seem..."

She excitedly interrupted him. "With all the time we'll have, we could practice and master some advanced magic that won't be covered in the curriculum!" She looked back down at her book. "If only we had some more material to pull from. Maybe we could borrow some books from McGonagall or Flitwick..."

Harry was chuckling.

"What's so funny?"

"Now you're the one who's forgetting something, Hermione."

"What? The library? You know it was sealed off for the summer, before final exams started...Alohamora won't get us in there."

Harry grinned from ear to ear.

Hermione glared. "You'd better not be thinking about breaking in there..."

Harry fished deep in his pocket and produced an ornate key with the Hogwarts crest engraved into the head, and dangled it in front of Hermione.

Hermione gasped. "Is that what I think it is? How'd you get..."

"Dumbledore gave it to me, of course. Do you mean to tell me that you accepted spending the entire summer alone with me, under the belief that you'd quickly run out of reading material?" He was quite amused by this revelation. "Sorry, I must've forgotten to tell you I had access."

Hermione blushed a bit, and made a grabbing motion for the key. But Harry jumped up on the sofa and held it beyond her reach, playing keep-away.

"Uh-uh. You have to promise me something before I'll give this up!"

Hermione stared at the key, deciding to play along. She extended an arm and chanted, "/Accio key/"

...but nothing happened. Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Of course, it's charmed to not respond to accio...Clever." Sighing, she relented. "All right. What do you want?"

"Promise me that you'll spend no more than half your free time reading this summer, and we can go to the library as often as you want. It won't do me any good if you've got your nose constantly buried in a book. You have to agree to let me suggest things for us to do."

Hermione considered this. "Well, as long as those things you suggest are within reason, and not breaking any rules..." She figured she'd still come out ahead.

Harry grinned. "Fair enough."

"Fine then, I accept your terms." Hermione smiled, knowing Harry's resistance was all in jest.

He jumped down off the sofa, landing in front of her, and gestured towards the portrait door that connected the common room to the hallway. "After you." 


	5. A plan

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 5

Hermione was practically bubbling with anticipation as Harry unlocked the door to the library and they stepped inside. There was plenty of sunlight coming in through the windows to see, so they didn't need to light any torches or use the "lumos" spell. All the chairs had been turned upside down on the study tables. Some displays had been covered with white sheets.

"Do you suppose we can just take any books we want back to the tower?", Hermione asked.

Harry picked up the corner of a sheet that was keeping the dust off a display that showed how Quidditch supplies had evolved over the ages. "As long as every book is accounted for at the end of the summer, I don't see that it'll make any bit of difference."

Hermione promptly made her way over to the restricted book section, surprising Harry a bit. Fortunately he knew it wasn't likely that anyone would happen to wander in and spot them in there.

Harry replaced the sheet and followed Hermione around. He likened the restricted section to the Forbidden Forest, due to the hexes he knew were placed on some of the books by Madame Pince. Opening the wrong book could be quite dangerous.

Hermione ran her finger along the spines of several tomes, passing over the ever-useful Moste Potente Potions, and finally found what she was looking for. She hesitantly retrieved a thick book with an ornate cover, Forgotten Magic of the First Millennium.

"So," Harry began, "What sort of magic would you like to practice this summer?"

"If I could pick one subject, it would be total body transfiguration into an animal. That takes a lot of practice and concentration, but I think we could pull it off."

Harry chuckled, remembering Hermione's unfortunate experience with the polyjuice potion in second year. Catgirl.

Hermione glared. "I know what you're thinking."

"Sorry. You mean like an animagus?"

"No. Becoming an animagus takes years of effort, and what you turn into is predetermined. Animagi can transfigure themselves without using incantations or wands."

Hermione charmed the book to reveal any hexes in place, and was satisfied that it was safe to be opened. She began flipping through it and continued, "What I'm proposing instead, is wanded, second-person transfiguration into arbitrary animals. It can only be learned if two people work together and trust each other."

Harry had to admit that sounded like fun. "What will McGonagall think?"

Hermione pulled a chair off her favorite study table and sat down. "As long as we're careful and responsible, she'd approve. She trusts us."

Harry pulled down the remaining chairs, and sat opposite her. "She trusts /you," Harry corrected.

"Though personally, I'd prefer to practice in secret, then surprise her."

Harry gave her an odd look. "That doesn't sound like you."

"It's just that I look up to her, and I want to impress her, but if we don't succeed, I'd rather not look like I wasted my time. Even though these kinds of transformations /are/ difficult to master."

"You're afraid of failure, aren't you? I mean, anything magic-related. Because--"

"Because I'm muggle-born?"

Harry nodded. "You have a deep urge to prove yourself." He suddenly remembered something the Sorting Hat had whispered to him. "Like I do."

"Perhaps."

"But you always accomplish what you set out to do or learn. That's the one thing about you that impresses me the most." Harry paused, thinking. "Well, except for divination. But Trelawney's a bit of a nutter, that's not your fault."

Hermione looked up from the book, raising both eyebrows at Harry, wondering what had gotten him started with the compliments.

"Have you ever wondered why you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw? You're at least as intelligent as any of that lot. But I think the Sorting Hat must've found a Gryffindor trait in you even more impressive than your intelligence. I think that trait was determination."

Hermione was turning several shades of red. "Harry...please stop. You'll give me a swelled head."

"I'm just speaking the truth. But I'm done now, anyway." Now it was Harry's turn to feel a bit embarrassed. As he considered what he'd just said, he realized that he'd basically called her more Ravenclaw than any Ravenclaw, and more Gryffindor than any other Gryffindor. After all, courage and determination are overlapping traits.

Gryffinclaw?

He would have to think about this some more, but not right now. "Um...I think my stomach's rumbling."

Hermione nodded. "Let's take this book to the common room, then go down to the Great Hall."

"Sounds like a plan."

(scene change)

Harry couldn't remember seeing the Great Hall so empty. A few of the school's faculty, including Dumbledore and McGonagall, were at the head table. Others such as Snape were presumably eating lunch in their offices, or had changed their eating schedule. It went without saying that Harry and Hermione were all alone at the Gryffindor table, and the other three tables were completely empty.

"It feels weird, doesn't it?", Harry asked.

Hermione nodded.

Whereas the usual swarm of owls delivering mail was quite impressive, today the "flock" was mediocre.

"That's...too...funny." Hermione giggled. "Only one owl!"

Harry also found it amusing. "I bet it's quiet up there in the owlery."

The lone owl dropped off a letter at the head table, then left as quick as it came.

McGonagall finished her meal, and then walked over to stand beside Hermione. "Miss Granger, Mr. Potter. If you want, I can arrange for the elves to take your meals up to the common room from now on. There's no point for you to come all the way down here."

"Thanks, Professor," Hermione said. "We'd appreciate that."

McGonagall nodded, "Very well. I'll probably come up to check on you sometime tomorrow evening." With that, she walked out of the room.

"That was awfully nice of her," Harry admitted.

A few minutes later, Dumbledore himself stopped by. "Good afternoon."

"Hello, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "By all means, you two should try to enjoy yourselves this summer. But if I may offer advice, spend your time wisely and take advantage of your unique opportunity to practice magic."

Hermione grinned. "We're one step ahead of you, Professor."

"Excellent." The headmaster offered them each a lemon sherbet candy, then he left as well.

Somehow Harry doubted Hermione's idea would meet with Dumbledore's complete approval, but he wasn't going to complain. He was looking forward to it almost as much as she was. 


	6. A difficult spell

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 6

At Hermione's insistence, Harry reluctantly agreed to get a head start on their summer homework by attacking the first Herbology assignment, namely to compile a table of properties of all the various herbs that they had focused on during the prior year.

They sat on the floor of the common room, with their books spread out around them. Working together, they were able to complete this faster than either could have done alone. In the end, as might be expected, Hermione's table was neater and more detailed than Harry's.

Harry felt sufficiently humbled, but no more than usual. Hermione always put more effort into assignments than either he or Ron did. He shook his head a bit, realizing that her diligence and ambition qualified her to be an excellent Hufflepuff or Slytherin as well.

Slytherpuff?

That poor hat must've gotten a headache while trying to sort Hermione into her house.

"Now, doesn't it feel good to have gotten one assignment out of the way already?", Hermione teasingly asked.

"Yeah," Harry admitted. "At this rate we'll run out of homework in a couple weeks."

"...Leaving plenty of time for us to do what we feel like. Speaking of which..." Hermione pushed Forgotten Magic of the First Millennium closer to Harry and spun it around so it was right-side-up from his perspective, and pointed to an entry. "I've found what I was looking for. Read this!"

Harry adjusted his glasses and leaned forward, then read aloud:

"ANIMALIS METAMORPHOSIS

Effects: Renders the victim (any living human or animal) into any desired animal within the same kingdom.

Difficulty: Master level

Unique Aspects: The true power of this spell lies in the fact that it requires memorizing only one incantation, despite its many possible outcomes. This makes it particularly flexible, and well-suited for many applications, including self-defense.

Casting: The user must stare into the eyes of the victim, clear his mind of extraneous thoughts, concentrate on visualizing the desired animal with as much detail as possible, chant the incantation while pointing his wand at the victim, and hold that image in his mind for the duration of the spell's effect.

Limitations: The amount of mass change is apparently limited to the user's innate magical ability. It should be noted that the level of mental discipline required is extremely high, such that very few wizards have ever been known to master it. If the user's concentration falters during casting, the result will likely be an incomplete, botched, or aborted transformation. Maintaining sight of the victim after transformation will obviously make it easier to concentrate on the image of the desired animal, thus prolonging the effect of the spell.

Side Effects: User may experience mental fatigue.

Warnings: Too few successful castings have been observed for us to develop a meaningful list of warnings."

Finally he looked up at Hermione. "/Wicked/", was all he could think to say.

Hermione spun the book around again. "Training ourselves to clear our minds is going to be as tricky as imagining the desired result with exacting detail. I suspect we'll each have to try various techiques of concentration until we find something that works for us individually. This will probably take weeks to pull off, but I still want to try, if you're willing."

"I am. I know we can do it if we work together and try hard enough."

Hermione smiled at that. "Would you like to give it a try? Mind you, I don't expect you to succeed just yet, but we have to start somewhere, after all."

Harry nodded. "What sort of animal do you want me to think of?"

"I'll leave that to you. Whatever is easiest for you to picture me as, I suppose. Don't tell me what it is just yet, though. I think I'd rather be surprised."

"All right, then. Give me a minute to think..."

Hermione moved their books and parchment aside to be on the safe side, and sat Indian-style, directly facing him.

It didn't take long for Harry to pick an animal he thought was appropriate. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to clear his thoughts as best he could.

Meanwhile, Hermione was a bit nervous. Merlin knew what state she might end up in if Harry lost his focus, but she had a certain level of confidence in him. Then she thought to advise, "If something goes wrong, looking away and thinking about something else should end the spell."

Harry silently nodded, his eyes still closed. His breathing slowed to a steady rhythm.

Suddenly he opened his eyes, startling her even though she was expecting it. He quickly pointed his wand and assertively chanted, "Animalis metamorphosis!"

A beam of light lanced forth from his wand and surrounded Hermione. She felt goosebumps as a tingling sensation swept over her.

Then the light ceased.

Hermione looked down at herself, feeling and looking quite the same as before.

"Are you all right?", Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "I think so."

"I lost my concentration. I got worried after you were engulfed in the light."

"Understandable. Want to try one more time and then take a break?"

"Sure." Harry again closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and formed an image to concentrate on. "Animalis metamorphosis!"

Hermione was again bathed in light. This time, it lasted perhaps fifteen seconds, but the results were the same.

Harry sighed. "I suddenly feel a bit tired. It took a lot out of me." He slumped over onto a pillow beside him. He was dissappointed in himself, moreso than he usually was when stumbling while learning a new spell, even though he knew this was going to take a lot of practice.

"That was a good attempt, Harry. You definitely held your focus longer that time. We'll keep working at it. Maybe after dinner, I can try casting it on you."

Harry nodded. "That sounds fine to me." 


	7. A second attempt

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 7

"Queen to H8."

Harry watched in horror as his rook was oblitterated.

"Checkmate!", Hermione proudly declared.

Harry watched as his king keeled over. "It's not fair, you're not the one who's exhausted from casting a deceptively difficult spell," he protested.

"Excuses, excuses!", Hermione teased.

It was now dusk. The elves brought up their dinner without being seen and without making a sound, setting it out on a study table in the common room.

Harry and Hermione only noticed it after the fact, from the pleasant smell.

"Ah! Room service!", Harry joked.

Hermione chuckled.

They got up from the floor and sat down at the table, facing each other. The food was standard fare for Friday nights, and they readily dug in.

"It'll be difficult for us to adjust when school starts again," Hermione observed before taking a taste of her chicken cordon bleu.

"Yeah. This is going to be my best summer, ever."

Hermione paused at that and looked up at Harry, her eyes widening. Did he mean that?

Harry noticed Hermione's glance, and quickly added, "Um, because I'll have more freedom than I would ever have back in Little Whinging." He quickly resumed eating.

"Oh. Of course." Hermione returned her attention to her food, and ate more slowly after that.

Neither said anything for a while, until Harry finished his food. "There's something about you I've always wondered," he bagan.

"Yes?"

"How is it that your muggle parents were so willing to send you to Hogwarts? You once told me that you didn't know you were a witch until you got your invitation."

Hermione put her fork down, deciding she'd had enough to eat. "They were contacted years earlier and informed about the wizarding world and my possible future in it. After that, they planned to eventually send me here, but kept it a surprise for me. They wanted me to have the opportunity to fulfill my potential."

"You were really lucky, for them accepting things."

Hermione nodded. "I'm sorry you had to get stuck with the Dursleys."

Harry frowned. "Let's try not to mention them."

"Oh, sorry."

"Anyway, you said you'd like to have a go at that spell? Shall we?"

Hermione nodded. "Sure."

The two returned to where they'd been sitting on the floor all afternoon. A small mess surrounded them, but it didn't compare to the sort that Fred and George Weasley were accustomed to fabricating.

"I'm ready when you are," Harry announced.

Hermione did things a bit differently, pointing her wand at him prior to closing her eyes. That would minimize the time between opening her eyes and casting.

Harry wasn't as nervous as Hermione was earlier. He knew he had more magical power than her, but she had more control. She usually got normal spells to work on her first try, but of course this was no normal spell. He realized that if anyone was deserving of his trust, she certainly was.

"Animalis metamorphosis!" Harry found himself illuminated by Hermione's wand, accompanied with a tingling sensation over his whole body. Several seconds later, he was certain he could feel his skin tightening in places... Was it working? He found it a bit disconcerting.

And then Hermione dropped her wand, the light abruptly ending. She leaned forward and used her arms to keep from falling over. Her head fell limp, and her hair flopped over her shoulders.

"Hermione!" Harry crawled up to her and held her shoulders to prop her back up, adopting a look of deep concern. "Are you all right?"

Hermione took several deep breaths before answering. "You weren't kidding when you said it took a lot out of you."

Harry let out a sigh of relief that she was okay. "Why don't you lie down on the sofa?"

"That's a good idea."

Harry helped her up, and walked her over to the sofa by the fireplace. Then he fetched a pillow for her, and sat down in the nearby armchair while Hermione got comfortable.

"Did you feel anything?", Hermione asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Like my skin was crawling."

"Hmmm. I only got a tingling sensation when you tried it on me earlier."

"Yeah, well, you probably have a better idea of what you're doing," Harry joked, truthful as it was. "Maybe we should take a different approach," he suggested.

"There are several possibilities. Let me mull it over for a few days."

"All right. Take as much time as you need. We can find other things to do in the meantime."

Already, gears were grinding in Hermione's head. Harry could see it in her facial expression. He'd seen it many times before.

Harry looked over at the table they'd eaten at, thinking of bringing the remainder of Hermione's glass to her. Already, the table was completely cleared off. Those elves certainly were efficient. "How about visiting Hagrid tomorrow for lunch?", he offered.

Hermione smiled. "That would be great. Does he even know we're here for the summer?"

Harry had to think about that. "I don't know. I'm sure the faculty was informed, but I think he was gone for a few days this week. I'll owl him tonight and see if it's okay."

"Then tomorrow after breakfast, we should leave a note on the table for the elves to not bring us lunch...seeing as we're unlikely to catch them. They seem to work quite fast."

Harry chuckled. "You noticed that too, huh?" He stood up and got some parchment to write said letter:

Hagrid,

In case you hadn't heard, Hermione and I are staying at Hogwarts for the summer. I'll explain later. Anyway, we were wondering if it would be all right to visit you tomorrow for lunch. Please send your reply with Hedwig so I'll get it as soon as possible.

Harry

"I'm going to run upstairs to send this to Hagrid," he announced.

"All right."

When he got up to his dorm room, Harry sat down on the edge of his bed and gave Hedwig a treat. Then he attached the parchment to her leg, and opened the window. "Please take this to Hagrid for me," he asked.

Hedwig nodded to Harry, then turned around and flew out into the darkness.

The dorm room seemed so empty now, with his roommates gone. Thinking about them, he turned to face his bedside table, and picked up a picture frame.

The moving picture showed Ron, Hermione, and himself standing together in winter (Hermione in the middle), all with goofy grins on their faces. They'd tied their Gryffindor scarves end-to-end, and the two boys had their arms around Hermione's shoulders and hers were around theirs. Snow fell all around them.

He was missing Ron already.

Harry put the picture back down. Since he didn't know how long it would take for the response to come, he left the window open when he went back down to the common room.

Hermione wasn't there. She'd left a note on the sofa, though.

He picked it up and read it:

Harry,

I've decided to go to bed early tonight to recover from casting that spell. See you for breakfast at sunrise.

Hermione

Frowning, Harry looked around and noticed that she'd picked up her half of their mess as well. That was so like her. Always cleaning up after herself. He and Ron could learn a thing or two from her.

He sat back down in the armchair and watched the perpetual fire for a while. With Hermione now gone, he suddenly felt quite lonely, even though he'd just spent a great day with her and would see her again tomorrow. Did that make any sense? 


	8. A dance with words

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 8

When Harry finally returned to his room, he found Hedwig there waiting for him, with a piece of parchment attached to her leg. He closed the window and removed the letter, then sat down on his bed to read it:

Harry,

Got worried when I didn't see you at Hogsmeade Station this morning.

You two are welcome anytime.

Hagrid

Even if it were unsigned, Harry could recognize Hagrid's scrawl from the size and unevenness of the individual letters. But you'd never guess it was him from the words themselves; the disparity between his friend's thick accent and writing style was amusing.

Harry changed into pajamas and laid down, tough he wasn't really tired; there just wasn't much for him to do at the moment. The only books he had were his prior year textbooks, which he found rather dull; he should've taken the time to find something for himself to read when they were in the library earlier. For a moment he considered using his dad's invisibility cloak to sneak past Mr. Filch and return to the library...but decided it was best to only use that in emergencies, since getting caught (especially without Hermione with him) would probably mean losing a number of his privileges, not to mention destroy whatever trust McGonagall had in him.

He decided to at least try to get some sleep, since he might need the extra energy tomorrow. As he drifted off, his thoughts turned to Hermione again.

Tomorrow would be fun.

(hours later...)

Something was nibbling on his ear.

Harry woke with a start, then realized it was morning already. Turning his head, he saw Hedwig beside him, and he couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, you silly bird," he said as he rolled out of bed. He opened the window to let his owl stretch her wings. Hedwig took off immediately.

He got dressed, and went downstairs.

Hermione was already in the common room, sitting on the sofa while reading.

"Morning."

"Hi." Hermione closed her book and set it aside. It was their potions textbook. "I need to ask Professor Snape if we can do some brewing. There's something I want to try."

"I'm afraid to ask."

Hermione smirked. "Afraid of asking me what I have planned, or afraid of asking Snape?"

"Both, I think." Harry looked over at the study table they'd eaten on last night, and saw various dishes set out. "Oh, it looks like breakfast is here already."

Hermione got up and they went to the table to eat.

"Did you sleep well?", Harry thought to ask as he cut into his eggs.

She nodded. "Like a log. But I'm quite awake now."

"Um. There's something else I've been meaning to ask."

"Yes?"

"What were you planning to read this summer, if you were under the impression that we wouldn't be able to get into the library?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment while chewing, then answered, "Well, I suppose I could have bought some books in Hogsmeade. The bookshop there is quaint, though."

"Oh..." Harry poked absently at his eggs. So she /hadn't/ actually thought she was giving up reading to spend the summer with him. But one of her words stuck out at him, 'suppose'. He began to wonder just how much she'd thought things through before agreeing... Reverse-engineering Hermione was proving to be quite difficult. Maybe it was easiest to just accept that she was trying to be a good friend and nothing more.

She promptly changed the subject. "Any word from Hagrid?"

Harry nodded. "He wrote that we could visit him anytime."

"Oh, good."

They continued eating.

Finally, Harry finished his plate. "I was thinking of asking Ron if he'd like to play a game of wizard's chess by owl," he announced.

"Oh, that's a good idea," Hermione agreed. "Then he'll know you're thinking of him, and..."

"And what?"

"Erm, nothing."

"Come on, you can tell me," Harry begged.

"Well." Hermione hesitated. "I'm concerned that he really is jealous of me spending the summer with you, despite his denial when he found out. I'd hoped to keep him in the loop somehow. We could let him know what's going on when you send your moves to him."

Harry blinked. "Do you really think..." He trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Uhm..."

Hermione looked at Harry expectantly. "Well, go on..."

"Do you really think that he thinks that we might...uhm..."

"What?"

Harry was turning red. "...that we might become more than just friends?"

Hermione nodded, showing no hint of emotion.

Harry was starting to feel quite nervous.

It must've shown, because Hermione was now smirking.

Harry gulped.

They stared and blinked at each other for a long moment while Harry summoned all of his Gryffindor courage.

"Do you think...that's...a possibility?", he finally squeaked out.

Hermione put her fork down, rested her elbows on the table, and cupped her chin in her hands, saying nothing, but kept her eyes fixed on his.

Harry couldn't remember being so anxious since his first encounter with Voldemort. He swore that Hermione was enjoying seeing him squirm, and almost wished he could retract the question.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Do you /want/ it to be a possibility?"

The proverbial ball was back in his court now.

"I think we should keep our options open," he admitted. He wondered how long this game of verbal dodgeball would continue.

"That's usually good advice," she acknowledged.

Harry tugged at his collar. "Well, it would be sad to see an opportunity go to waste..."

"I tend to agree."

Hermione retrieved a piece of parchment, a quill, and a jar of ink from a drawer in the study table, and wrote her note to the elves to not bring lunch.

Harry wondered if that conversation actually happened and he'd gotten the same meaning from it as she had. "Did we just...uhm...I mean...are we..."

"I think so," Hermione confirmed, with a contented smirk on her face.

Well, that made it official. Harry found himself ecstatic on one hand and feeling guilty on the other. This development had happened much sooner than he ever anticipated.

What would they tell Ron? 


	9. A spilling of guts

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 9

Harry was still trying to comprehend this unstated understanding between them. There was definitely something there, but they hadn't gone so far as to actually use the words 'boyfriend', 'girlfriend', or 'couple' yet. It seemed that they each harbored feelings for the other, but were having difficulty expressing themselves, as demonstrated by their breakfast conversation.

He stood up from the table and flopped down on the sofa. "I think we need to talk about this, so we know where we stand on things," he began.

Hermione sat down next to him. "That would probably be good."

Harry clasped his hands together in his lap and stared down at them. "Did you agree to stay here because you hoped something might develop between us?"

"Yes, but I think I would've agreed anyway, because I would still have cared about you. So, I don't want you to feel as though I'm here against my will if things don't work out between us."

Harry smiled at that. "You're amazing, Hermione. I'm going to feel like I'm walking on eggshells around you now. I'm so worried I'm going to unintentionally do or say something to put you off."

"Well, being an insufferable know-it-all tends to repel boys as well as any curse, so I haven't had much experience with this either."

Harry turned his head to face Hermione, and wrapped an arm around her. "Don't think of yourself like that."

Hermione leaned towards him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Harry rather liked the warm feeling that gave him.

"Just how should I think of myself, then?"

"As an ambitious, brilliant, compassionate, determined, diligent young woman with a lot to look forward to in life," Harry answered.

"You've been complimenting me a lot lately," Hermione observed.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, well, I don't know how else to say that I like someone besides complimenting them. Years of being mistreated by my aunt and uncle have made it difficult for me to open up to people, I think. They don't like me, and they certainly never complimented me for anything."

"I understand. I'm sorry."

"Oh, and you're pretty, too."

"I am not!"

"Oh, you try to hide it, but I still see it."

Hermione blushed. Nobody had ever called her that before. "So...how long have you had feelings for me?"

"I didn't fully realize it until Buckbeak's execution, when you leaned on Ron's shoulder. That was the first time I was ever jealous of him. But later, after we saved Buckbeak and were riding him to rescue Sirius..."

"Yes?"

"...I felt like I was on top of the world, with you hanging on to me. I know it probably sounds silly. For a brief moment, everything was falling into place. You have no idea how often I've dreamt about that moment. I lost count. I almost think I could've fallen off and plummeted to my death and died happy, right then and there."

Hermione smiled. "I don't think that's silly."

"Thanks."

"As I recall though, I was rather unnerved about flying that high. So after you realized this, why didn't you say anything?"

"I feared rejection, especially since I thought you and Ron were together. I didn't think I really had a chance."

"Well, I do care about him. The real reason I leaned on him that day was because I was in shock and he was more convenient. Though I admit we did spend more time together in recent history. But his impulsiveness and lack of maturity always bothered me."

"So, then...how long have you been interested in me?", Harry finally asked.

Hermione smirked. "Oh, since the end of second year."

"That long?"

"Mmmhmm. It would've been sooner, except I was blinded by Lockhart. I felt stupid after he was exposed, but I'm glad he was." She paused for a moment. "After I found out you'd been able to summon Fawkes, I knew without doubt that there was a fire in you that made you special. Real. Not just a façade."

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. "So why didn't /you/ say anything to /me? You're the bold one here, after all."

"I was afraid it was just hero worship again. I kept telling myself I was being silly."

Harry blinked. "You think of me as a hero?"

"Well, you are one. Several times over, in fact. You defeated Voldemort in first year, then solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, defeated the basilisk, defeated Tom Riddle, rescued Ginny, saved the school from closing, exposed Lockhart, and proved Hagrid innocent, in the second year, then in third..."

He cut her off. "But I wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything if it weren't for you and Ron helping me all the time."

"You're modest. Not a hint of arrogance. Completely the opposite of Lockhart. I like that about you. You need to learn to take credit for your archievements, though."

"But I don't like the attention I get. If I have to be a hero, I'd rather be the kind that goes unnoticed."

Hermione smirked. "Well, you've definitely got my attention now, and you'd better get used to it," she teased, poking him in the side.

Harry responded by tickling Hermione's side, resulting in her squealing and giggling. He relented, smirking.

Then he realized that he'd never felt comfortable enough with her to tickle her before now. Well, spilling your guts to someone and having them reciprocate will probably make you feel closer to them, he reasoned.

"So what else do you see in me?", Harry inquired, fully enjoying this debriefing of sorts.

Hermione started counting on her fingers. "Oh, let's see. You're courageous, yet meek, loyal, pure of heart, charming, cute..."

Harry protested. "I am /not/ cute..."

"Don't argue with me. You are too cute!"

"/Too/ cute?"

"/Too/ as in decidedly, not excessively," she clarified.

"Only if you'll accept that you're pretty."

They both chuckled at that.

"So, where does this leave us, now that we know how we feel about each other?", Harry asked. "I don't want to rush into things."

Hermione nodded. "Same here. We'll just have to take things one day at a time and see how it goes." 


	10. A partial success

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 10

Harry and Hermione were still sitting on the sofa together, his arm still wrapped around her, after having that rather meaningful chat.

Harry felt like he was in a dream. It meant so much to him to know that Hermione reciprocated his interest in her.

They spent a long moment saying nothing, but enjoying each others' presence.

"What was it you were wanting to brew earlier?", Harry remembered to ask.

"Oh. That. Just a simple concentration potion. I need to ask Professor Snape if we can borrow some ingredients for it. It's simple enough to brew here, so we don't have to do it down in his classroom."

Harry didn't like the prospect of asking Snape for anything, but if Hermione wanted it, he figured he could make an allowance for it. "Here would be preferable, yes," he agreed. "Good idea, by the way."

Hermione smiled. "But, actually, I thought of something else we can try, first."

"Oh?"

"I'll be right back."

Hermione stood up and dissappeared up the girls' staircase.

She returned a few minutes later with one of her thick notebooks and sat back down on the sofa beside Harry, and began flipping through it, searching for something.

While she was preoccupied, Harry turned his attention to composing a letter.

Ron,

How are you finding life back at the Burrow?

Hermione didn't realize she'd be able to get in the library or practice magic. Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut? You should've seen the look on her face when she found out. Would you believe I got her to promise not to spend the whole summer with her nose buried in books?

I can't practice for Quidditch. McGonagall won't let us fly (I don't remember if I told you that before you left or not). It would've been boring to do it alone anyway, I guess. But we can do just about anything else as long as we don't leave the school grounds without an escort. 

We will be visiting Hagrid for lunch today.

Hermione says Hi.

I was wondering if you'd like to play a game of Wizard's chess by owl. E2 to E4.

Harry

He decided it wasn't worth bringing up the subject of him and Hermione as a couple just yet. Maybe if things didn't work out between them, he wouldn't have to tell Ron about it at all.

"I'll run up and send this off to Ron," Harry announced as he folded the parchment and stood up.

Hermione nodded, not taking her eyes off her notebook.

A few minutes later, Harry returned and sat down beside Hermione again and watched her. She was now studying one page intently, biting her lower lip in concentration.

"It's cute when you do that," he observed.

"Hmmm?"

"When you bite your lower lip like that."

"Oh. I didn't realize I was doing it. Old habit of mine."

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. Then you'd still be doing it."

Hermione chuckled at that. She had cute dimples that showed up when she laughed, too.

"What are you looking for, anyway?", Harry asked as he scooted towards her and leaned against her. He could see that her notes were meticulous, whatever they were of, and written very neatly.

"Charms notes. I remembered Professor Flitwick telling us about a charm used in meditation..."

"To clear your mind?", Harry guessed.

"Bingo."

Harry could see where this was going. "Not /obliviate/ I hope," he teased.

Hermione elbowed Harry for that one. "No, silly, this one only affects your temporary memory. It's relatively harmless. Actually, it looks quite useful for a number of things. Like helping someone get to sleep, or calming someone who's preoccupied, or helping someone to focus before studying or taking a test."

"Shall we give it a try, then?"

Hermione nodded. "All right. Let's get positioned like we were before, then I'll clear your mind, then you try transforming me, since you seemed to be able to withstand casting that spell a bit better than me."

"Sounds good."

They retrieved their wands and moved to the floor so they could face each other.

"You trust me, don't you?", Hermione asked, checking that Harry wasn't nervous.

"Yes. I trust you as much as I trust Dumbledore, and that's saying a lot."

Hermione smiled at that. "Thanks for saying so. It means a lot to me."

They pointed their wands at each other, and Harry closed his eyes.

"Ready?"

Harry nodded.

"Clarus mentis!", she chanted.

Harry could feel the hair on his head stand on end for a brief moment, and then the clutter in his mind seemed to fade away. He was no longer thinking about Hagrid, or Ron, or his first chess move, or how cold the floor was, or how his shirt tag was scratching his neck, or how how the shoes he'd bought the previous summer were feeling tight. He felt quite comfortable, in fact, as though he were floating in inky blackness and nothing around him mattered.

It took him a moment to remember what he was trying to do. He recalled the animal he'd picked out for Hermione, and concentrated on that. It was a bit easier to focus this time.

Finally, he opened his eyes and chanted, "Animalis metamorphosis!"

The light that surrounded Hermione was brighter this time, so bright that she closed her eyes. She found her heart beating faster, but she didn't know whether this was due to excitement, or an actual change taking place.

Something was definitely happening to her ears; she could feel them inching towards the top of her head. Also, something was happening in the corners of her mouth...then the process seemed to halt.

"Hermione. Open your eyes..."

She did. She looked down at herself, not finding anything different, then back up at Harry. "The same result as before?" Somehow her voice sounded a bit different to her. As did his.

"Not quite..." Harry leaned towards her, a look of wonderment in his countenance as his mouth hanged open just a bit.

"What? What do you see?", Hermione begged.

"You've got fangs," Harry announced. His attention shifted to the top of her head, and then he smirked. "And a really cute pair of fox ears, if I do say so myself." 


	11. A few more plans

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 11

"What? What do you see?", Hermione begged.

"You've got fangs," Harry announced. His attention shifted to the top of her head, and then he smirked. "And a really cute pair of fox ears, if I do say so myself."

---

Hermione went wide-eyed, and excitedly reached up to feel her new canines and fuzzy ears.

Harry, meanwhile, was now massaging his forehead while keeping an eye on her.

"I didn't think to have a mirror handy," Hermione lamented. She stood up, and started wandering around the common room, trying to find some reflective surface.

"By the portrait hole," Harry suggested as he stood up. Then he thought to remind her, "Stay where I can see you, or you might revert back. I don't know how long I can keep this image in my head."

Hermione dashed towards the exit and looked at herself in the full-length mirror there. Sure enough, peeking through her bushy hair were two triangular ears, covered with soft brown fuzz. Then she inspected her prominent teeth.

Harry walked up behind her and reached up to feel one of her ears, but stopped short of actually touching it. "May I?", he asked.

She could see what he was about to do from his reflection. "Yes, but be careful, they're a bit ticklish."

Harry grinned, then delicately felt the cartilage of her ear between his thumb and forefinger. It twitched a bit. "That is too cool," he proclaimed.

Hermione was somewhat bubbly about it. "Isn't it, though?" She turned around and hugged him, as though it were a priceless gift he'd just given her. "Thanks."

Harry smiled as he felt her ear twitch against his cheek. "Too bad it won't last long."

Hermione let go of him and nodded, staring into the mirror again. "How did the mind-clearing charm work?", she asked.

"Better than I expected. I guess we should use that from now on when we practice this. What about that concentration potion you mentioned?"

"I think it would be best if we hold off on the potion for as long as possible, and just use the mind-clearing charm for now. Think of it as like having training wheels on a bicycle. After a while, we won't need it anymore. The concentration potion takes a while to brew, and we'll look suspicious if we keep asking for more ingredients, so let's save that for later, in case we want to prolong the effect. I'd rather not become dependent on a potion if I can avoid it, even if it isn't habit-forming. I think it would be counter-productive."

"I can see the logic in that," Harry admitted. He briefly remembered riding Dudley's bicycle long ago before that oaf broke it, then thought to try to concentrate on keeping the spell active. He followed her back to the sofa and sat down. "I'm a bit tired, but not as bad as last time."

Hermione joined him, and laid down in such a way that her head was propped up by his thigh. With this position, he had a good view of her "alterations" and could sustain her current state much more easily.

"I wish I had a camera, even a muggle camera, right now," Harry said as he played with her ears.

Hermione grinned. "Oh? You like me like this, do you?"

Harry nodded. "I wonder if that spell would allow intentionally stopping at a partial transfiguration."

"That's an interesting thought. We can try it next time," Hermione offered. "It might be easier than going for the full effect. If that's the case, we could practice that way, focusing on changing more and more of the body body each time."

"That sounds like a good plan. Let's wait till after McGonagall stops by this evening to try again, though. We can work on a summer assignment or something after lunch."

Hermione blinked. "Did you just volunteer to do homework on a beautiful summer day, Harry James Potter?", she teased.

"Did you have something else in mind, then?"

"I was thinking we could go swimming in the lake."

"But I don't have swimming trunks," he said, sighing.

"I could try to transfigure a pair of shorts for you."

He hadn't thought of that. "All right. But is the lake inside the school boundary?"

"I don't know if it is entirely," Hermione admitted, "but the part nearest the castle, where the first-years arrive by boat, has to be."

"Ah. Sure, let's do that, then."

"Oh, I seem to remember someone saying the Slytherin common room is somewhere beneath the lake. Surely that part's inside the barrier too," Hermione added.

"Just to be safe, let's ask Hagrid about it," Harry suggested.

"All right."

They fell silent for a short while, feeling quite comfortable.

"So what made you think of a fox?", Hermione finally asked. "Was it arbitrary, or did you have a particular reason?"

"Well...you're awfully clever, like foxes in fables. If you were an animagus, I like to think you'd be a fox, if not an owl. Of course, I can't change you into an owl, since that's not a mammal. I hope you like it."

Hermione blushed a bit at that. She'd picked an animal for Harry using the trait she most admired in him as well. "I do. Knowing why you picked it makes it more special...more personalized. I think we should practice with the same target animals over and over again until we're satisfied with the results, before trying other ones," she suggested.

Harry nodded...and then widened his eyes at what he saw. "Um, sorry, my mind wandered just now, and you're changing back, I think." He watched as Hermione's ears returned to normal.

Hermione frowned a bit, and felt her canines as they shrank. "It's just as well, it'll be time for lunch soon, and we can't very well let Hagrid know about this...yet."

"But now we know we can hold the change for at least half an hour."

Hermione nodded. "I'd like to find out how long we can delay that."

Harry grinned. "I'm sure we'll have fun finding out." 


	12. A visit with Hagrid

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 12

As they left the castle to go visit Hagrid, Hermione took hold of Harry's hand and interlaced her fingers in his, much to his surprise. Not that he was complaining. It was just something new to get used to, another way to show affection and feel close. Harry couldn't help but smile a bit.

Hagrid was sitting on his front step, peeling potatoes into a huge cauldron when they arrived. When he caught sight of them, he stopped what he was doing and set the cauldron inside the doorframe, then stood up, arms stretched out to receive them. They let go of each other and ran up to Hagrid, giving him a big hug. "'ow are you?", he asked.

Harry answered. "Pretty good. You?"

"Keepin' busy. Always stuff ter do aroun' here. Come on in." Hagrid turned and led the way into his hut, leaving the door open since it was a hot summer day. They could smell a vegetable stew brewing in a cauldron.

Hermione wandered over to it to peek inside. "Oh, this looks delicious, Hagrid!" It was probably enough to feed a small army, too.

Hagrid practically beamed at her compliment as he cut up some of his freshly-peeled potatoes over the cauldron.

Harry was relieved that it wasn't one of Hagrid's more "interesting" ideas of a meal. Still though, he wouldn't be surprised if there were a few secret ingredients that he'd rather not know about. He and Hermione climbed up into chairs at the table.

"So wha's this about yer stayin' at Hogwarts fer the summer?", Hagrid asked as he added some spices and then put a lid on the cauldron.

"Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort is planning something, but doesn't know what, and didn't think it was safe to send me back to my aunt and uncle since they'd been paid an unpleasant visit just before the school went out of session," Harry explained in one long-winded sentence.

"Sorry to hear that, Harry. Can't be too careful when you-know-who's up to who-knows-what." Somehow it sounded funnier than he intended.

Hagrid turned his head to face Hermione. "So are you 'ere to protect 'im?"

Hermione blushed. "Not exactly. I'm here to keep him company."

"I complained that I'd get depressed being up in the tower by myself for the whole summer," Harry added. "It was really nice of Dumbledore to let me ask a friend to stay."

"Ain't never had a better headmaster than 'im," Hagrid nodded in approval. He rummaged around to find some dinnerware for his guests.

"Hagrid," Harry began, "we were wondering if you know whether the whole lake is inside the anti-apparation barrier."

"Aye, it is. As soon as first-years get in their boats, they're on school grounds, as it were."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a smile at that confirmation, then Harry thought to ask something else. "Is it safe to swim in the lake?"

Hagrid scratched his head. "Well..."

"Is there something living in the lake that we should know about, Hagrid?", Hermione tried to fish out an answer.

Hagrid checked the stew. "Maybe."

"Maybe?", Harry repeated.

"No-one believes me that Bubbles is real. But I don't think she'll come out during the day."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Bubbles?"

"You've heard of the Loch Ness Monster, haven't you? Bubbles is like that. But I've only seen 'er once, long ago. They searched the lake, but couldn't find 'er. Said if she was real, she might be a kelpie or a boggart. But I know it wasn't."

"We believe you," Hermione assured him.

"You always come up with the best names, Hagrid," Harry chuckled, remembering Fluffy, Norbert, and Fang.

Hermione had covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at that. She playfully elbowed Harry for making his remark.

After a short while, Hagrid set out three large bowls and poured some stew into each one, but only filled his visitors' bowls half way. Then he gave each of them a thick slice of fresh bread and a mug of water that was cold, despite not having any ice in it.

Hermione arched an eyebrow upon touching her mug. "How'd you make the water cold, Hagrid?"

"I cast /frigus/ on it, o' course. Handy spell, that."

"Brilliant! I'll have to remember that one."

They all began eating. "Mmm, this really /is/ good, Hagrid," Harry commented.

Hagrid looked like he was turning a shade of red. "Hoped you'd like it. Made it just fer you two."

"Thanks, Hagrid!", his visitors said in unison.

---

When they were done eating, Hermione insisted on washing the dishes, and Harry dried them, while Hagrid sat down to relax. When they were done, they joined him, sitting down on a bench to face him.

"When yeh came 'ere, you were holdin' hands," Hagrid observed. "Somethin' goin' on between you two?" He had a glint in his eye.

Hermione and Harry glanced at each other. Hermione was blushing a bit.

Harry nodded. "We're...trying things out," he admitted.

Hagrid noticed their hesitation, but gave a nod of approval. "I think you make a really good couple. Never seen two people who were so fit for each other. But don' worry, I won' tell anyone if you don' want."

"Thanks, we appreciate it," Hermione said. "We're mostly worried about what Ron will think when he finds out, assuming things work out between us..." She glanced at Harry, and he nodded in agreement.

"I think he'll understan'. Ron makes a good friend, but to be honest, I don' think he's cut out fer you, Hermione. Not quite as level-headed." He winked at her.

Hermione blushed.

They stayed for another hour, catching up on what Hagrid had been up to the past week, before they decided it was time to go.

"Thanks for having us over, Hagrid," Hermione said as she gave him a farewell hug.

"Stop by anytime," he repeated his standing invitation, as he opened the door for them and they stepped through.

Hermione clasped Harry's hand again as they headed back towards the castle.

As soon as they were out of earshot of Hagrid's cabin, Harry started chuckling.

"What?", Hermione asked.

Harry couldn't answer with a straight face. "Bubbles."

That got Hermione giggling. She elbowed him again. 


	13. A dip in the lake

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 13

As Harry and Hermione approached the castle, they stayed near the edge of the lake and kept a look out for a good place to swim.

"How about here?", Harry suggested, upon noticing they were near a shallow area.

"Looks good to me," Hermione nodded approvingly.

They were already wearing their swimsuits beneath their clothing, so there was no need to return to Gryffindor tower to change clothes; they simply stood on opposite sides of a nearby tree for modesty, and removed their outer layers (Hermione had transfigured some of their ordinary clothes into swimwear, and they put it on prior to visiting Hagrid).

Harry stepped out from beneath the shade of the tree and looked up at the clear blue sky. "Too bad we don't have any sunblock with us," he lamented.

Hermione approached him from behind. "Who needs sunblock?" She waved her wand at him and chanted, "Impedio solis!", then cast the same charm on herself.

Harry felt a tingling sensation spread over his skin, and turned around to face her. "Thanks..."

She had on a two-piece teal swimsuit, revealing more of her skin than Harry had ever been privileged to see before; prior to now, he'd only seen her in clothing that met the school's conservative dress code. She was shaplier than he'd realized. "Wow, you look great," he finally managed to say.

Herminone blushed a bit, and placed her wand in a special sheath strapped to her leg so she wouldn't have to leave it unattended. Harry was wearing one, too.

They waded into the water together, and found it refreshingly cool. They swam aimlessly for a while, until Harry decided to splash Hermione. She shrieked, then returned the favor, and chased him to a large rock a hundred feet out from the shore. They climbed atop it; it was was about six feet in diameter, with a more or less flat top. Hermione sat on the edge, dangling her feet in the water, and Harry joined her by her side.

"This would be a perfect spot for a picnic sometime," Hermione commented.

"Or to stay out late and try to spot Bubbles," Harry suggested.

Hermione wasn't sure if Harry was being serious, or just teasing her. The tomboy inside her did find the idea appealing, however. Surely Hagrid would like to have other witnesses for that creature he'd spotted, so people wouldn't think he was just imagining it. She loved a good mystery.

"It'd be nice to have something soft to sit on, though," Harry complained as he shifted his position.

"We could arrange that. Maybe we could borrow one of the rowboats, and bring some blankets with us. I'm sure Hagrid would let us."

Harry glanced over his shoulder, and spotted someone across the lake, apparently searching for something around the shoreline. He tapped Hermione's shoulder and gestured towards the tiny figure. "Who do you think that is over there?"

Hermione stood up and shielded her eyes from the sun to get a better view. The figure had stopped whatever it was doing, and was staring directly at them. 

Harry stood up too, and waved to the figure, but it didn't wave back.

Hermione ventured a guess, "Uhm, I think that's Professor Snape."

"Well, that explains why he didn't wave back..."

Whoever it was resumed whatever it was that they'd previously been doing.

"That man gives me the creeps," Hermione remarked, though it really went without saying.

"Let's get back to the shore," Harry suggested, before jumping off the rock.

Hermione followed after him.

When they returned to land, Hermione brandished her wand and cast /exaresco/ on both Harry and herself, drying them off instantly.

Harry looked down at himself and blinked. "Do you mean I've been wasting my time all these years drying myself manually, when I could've just used that spell?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's what I do, anyway. I found it in an old book. You should try reading one sometime," she teased.

Harry just rolled his eyes at that. "So why did you have me put towels in my bag for?"

"To lay down on, of course."

"Oh. That makes sense," he admitted.

They spread the towels near the tree, positioning them carefully so their eyes would be in the tree's shade. Then they basked in the sun for a while, knowing that the charm Hermione had cast earlier would prevent them from getting burnt. It would also prevent them from getting a tan, but that was inconsequential as far as they were concerned.

"This feels so good...I could lay here all day," Hermione finally said, breaking the silence.

"I know what you mean," Harry agreed. He propped himself up and admired her for a moment, until she rolled onto her side to face him.

"Enjoying the view, Harry?" Hermione chuckled.

Harry looked quite embarrased, and averted his eyes. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay. You know I'm just teasing you. If I were really worried about being seen, I would've dressed differently."

Harry blinked. "You mean you wore that for my benefit?"

Hermione had a mischevious grin. "Maybe."

Harry sweatdropped at this point. He'd never known her to flirt before.

Hermione pulled Harry back into reality. "But...we really should head back, so we can finish another assignment before dinner."

Harry couldn't help but whimper, eliciting a giggle from Hermione.

Reluctantly, he stood up and gathered his things, and put his shoes back on. Hermione did the same, and soon they were headed back to the castle with their arms full. 


	14. A tense dinner

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 14

Upon returning to Gryffindor tower, Harry and Hermione separated and went into their dormitories to change their clothes into something more suitable.

Harry found Hedwig waiting for him. He pet the owl, and read the letter attached:

---

Harry,

It's nice to be back home. I think the best part is mum's cooking.

I bet the look on Hermione's face was priceless! Good luck keeping her to her promise!

Too bad about not being able to fly. Speaking of which, I hope the new team captain next year won't force you to practice as much as Wood did.

Tell Hermione hi for me. Ginny says hi to both of you too.

e7-e5

Ron

---

Harry put the letter away, then quickly put on a teeshirt and bluejeans. Since the common room had warmed up due to the abundant afternoon sun, he didn't bother with socks. Books and notes in hand, he hurried back down to the common room, then tossed some pillows on the floor, sat down, and spread out his materials.

Hermione emerged from the girls' staircase a few minutes later, followed by Crookshanks. She was wearing a nice blouse and bluejeans and socks. Her cat jumped atop the back of the sofa and curled up for a nap.

"Ron wrote back. He and Ginny send their hellos to both of us," Harry announced.

She set her own books down and made herself comfortable on a pillow. "I think Ginny fancies you," she said, smirking.

Harry dropped his quill.

Hermione giggled. "You hadn't noticed?"

"Well...I'm sorry to dissapoint her, but I'm afraid I have someone else on my mind as of late." He grinned.

"Are you going to tell Ron about our transfiguration attempts?"

Harry shrugged. "If I do, he'll feel left out. If I don't, he'll feel left out when he finds out later."

"Maybe it would be best to not say anything until school starts again, then offer to practice with him." Hermione suggested.

"Yeah, that would probably be best."

"On to other topics. Let's get Professor Flitwick's first assignment out of the way."

This one involved categorizing all of the spells they'd learned the prior year, based on type of effect, duration of effect, style of casting, etc.

"I think we need to rely on your notes this time, Harry."

Harry blinked. "Come again?"

"My notes have all the spells from the book, but we were only asked to categorize the ones we discussed in class. It's difficult to distinguish the two in my own notes, since I wrote them before the year even started...", she explained.

"Well. I never thought I'd see the day when my notes would be more useful than your own," Harry teased. "I suppose I should savor the moment." The only times she'd ever used his notes before were when she was recovering from the polyjuice potion and being petrified.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.

Like their last assignment, it took a couple hours to complete, but they finished sooner than either would have alone.

They stacked up their books and notes, but remained seated on their pillows for a moment. Soon a pleasant smell wafted over them.

"Looks like dinner's served," Hermione noticed.

They stood up and began walking to the table...then stopped upon realizing there were three, not two, place settings. They looked up at each other quizzically.

Then the portrait-hole opened, and Professor McGonagall entered the common room, dressed about the same now as when she taught in class.

Harry had forgotten that she'd mentioned her intent to pay them a visit this evening. He looked down at himself, wishing he'd dressed less casually, and stepped behind the sofa, hoping their teacher wouldn't notice he was barefoot.

"Hello," McGonagall called out as she approached them. "I hope you don't mind my having dinner with you, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss some things."

"Not at all, Professor," Hermione responded.

Harry said nothing, feeling both caught off guard and embarrased about his clothes, or lack thereof.

McGonagall looked Harry up and down, but didn't say a word about his attire.

They sat down at the table together and began their meal.

"Have you been tending to your summer schoolwork?", McGonagall asked while looking at Harry accusingly.

"Yes, we've finished two of our assignments already," Harry proudly answered. Now he was /so/ glad Hermione had been insistant about their homework.

She raised an eyebrow, then turned to face Hermione, who nodded in support of Harry's claim.

"Good. I'll admit that I had my reservations about this arrangement, but I'm glad to see that you're not slacking off."

Somehow, Harry was sure that comment was intended for him, not Hermione.

"I presume that you're getting along well together, then?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, we haven't had any problems so far. In fact..."

Harry gulped.

"...we've been studying and practicing some magic together," she finished.

Harry was relieved that Hermione hadn't said anything about their new relationship. He worried about the possibility of McGonagall insisting on having a chaperone present if she found out.

"Oh? What sort of magic?", McGonagall probed.

Harry gulped again, adopting a worried look.

"Oh, just a few spells that weren't covered very much...like the mind-clearing charm."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. She was being truthful but dishonest by skipping a certain minor detail.

Hermione knowingly winked at him.

McGonagall gave a nod of approval. "That's a useful one, yes. It should have been made required material long ago."

"Has there been any activity at the Dursleys'?", Harry asked.

McGonagall shook her head. "Fortunately, no. The Ministry of Magic has the house under surveillance. Rest assured that your family is safe for now."

Harry nodded.

They finished their meal in silence.

"Professor Snape stopped by my office today," McGonagall suddenly announced.

That got their attention quickly.

"We thought we spotted him by the lake today," Harry volunteered. "What did he want?"

"He seems to think that you two could use a little extra schoolwork this summer, to keep you occupied."

Harry winced, and Hermione didn't look very happy about that, either.

"But since you've shown initiative in your studies, I'm going to disregard his suggestion for now," she finally added.

He realized how close they'd just come to having Snape ruin their summer, as one of his roommates had warned. "Th--Thank you, Professor," he thought to say. 

"We'll keep studying and practicing," Hermione asserted. She just didn't say /what/ they were planning to study and practice.

"Very well. I'm satisfied with what I see...", she glanced at Harry's teeshirt, "...for the most part."

Harry looked down, embarrased.

McGonagall stood up, followed by Harry and Hermione. "I really am proud to have both of you as members of my house."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry and Hermione said in unison.

McGonagall turned to leave. "I bid you a good evening. I'll stop by again in a few days. And remember, my door is always open."

"Goodbye, Professor."

McGonagall dissappeared through the portrait hole.

"That was tense," Harry remarked.

Hermione turned to face him. "I know what you mean. I guess I should've reminded you that she was coming up for a visit. Sorry."

"No, it's okay. Truth me known, my clothes were the least of my worries. Thanks for not volunteering anything she didn't need to know."

Hermione grinned. "How about we get back to practicing that spell now?"

"That would be brilliant." 


	15. A brother for Crookshanks

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 15

Hermione thought to fetch a hand mirror from her dorm room for their convenience, then the two returned to their pillows on the floor and sat down, facing each other.

"I'll try transfiguring you first, then you can have a shot at me," Harry suggested.

Hermione nodded. "All right." She raised her wand and cast /clarus mentis/ on him, just as before, to help him prepare.

Harry closed his eyes and found himself floating in blackness again, sortof like being in a sensory deprivation tank. He was a bit more relaxed about it this time, since he knew what to expect.

But unlike the last attempt, Harry had decided to only focus on changing a few specific parts of Hermione, to test whether the spell permitted that. If it did, the spell would potentially be easier to practice, and also that much more entertaining.

Finally, he opened his eyes and cast /animalis metamorphosis/ on her.

Hermione closed her eyes as soon as the light from his wand enveloped her. She felt a similar sensation as before when her ears began creeping upward and changing shape, but this time her eyes also tingled a bit, and she didn't feel anything happening to her canine teeth at all.

When the sensations stopped, she opened her eyes again and picked up the mirror to get a look at her face. Her formerly brown irises had changed to more of a honey color, and the pupils had elongated from circles to ellipses. Also, her fox ears were more prominent, about half again as big as they were before. Her teeth were completely normal.

Harry leaned forward to get a closer look at her eyes.

"I think you might've gone overboard on the ears this time," she said, smirking. "Good job on the eyes, though. My visual acuity is different...hard to describe, but I guess that's to be expected when you transfigure them. Just as everything sounds different with these ears..."

Harry grinned. "At least now we know a partial transfiguration will work. I'm not as tired after that as I was before, either. I tried to change your canines too, but couldn't hold the image at the same time. Too many things to think about at once."

"Don't worry about it, we'll probably both have some difficulty with learning to keep track of every part we want to change."

Harry nodded.

Hermione was eager to proceed. "My turn, now..."

"All right." Harry sat up straighter, pointed his wand at Hermione, and cast /clarus mentis/ on her.

This was the first time Hermione had been the recipient of that particular spell and felt its effect. She immediately regretted not having asked Harry what the sensation was like, so she could have prepared for it. As her mind cleared, their encounters with Hagrid, Snape, and McGonagall that day left her thoughts and she found herself better able to focus.

Then she summoned the image of the animal she wanted Harry to become, concentrating on specific areas just as Harry did. Eventually, she opened her eyes and cast /animalis metamorphosis/ on him.

Harry was surrounded with a halo of light as usual, and suddenly felt an odd sensation in his hands, as if the bones within them were moving around. He lost his grip on his wand, and it fell to the floor. Then he stared in amazement as his little fingers merged with his ring fingers, and his thumbs lost their opposability. All his fingers became shorter and thicker, and shifted around. The skin on his palms was thickening into pads. His fingernails became claws. His feet were undergoing a similar transformation, becaming shorter but wider than they were previously. When the process was complete, he had four large paws with four digits each, covered with golden fur on top.

"Good work, Hermione." Harry examined one of his paws, then guessed aloud, "A lion?"

"Yes."

"Because of the Gryffindor crest?"

She shook her head. "I picked the lion mainly because I think of you as being lion-hearted. But it was also fitting that you were born at the end of July, making you a Leo. And, well, you know I like cats... It's only coincidence that it's part of the house crest."

Harry grinned. "You flatter me. But I like it." He tried picking up his wand with his stubby "fingers", finding it difficult.

Hermione looked pleased with herself. She took hold of a paw that used to be one of Harry's hands, and inspected it, finding the cushioning pads (on what used to be his palm) to be very soft.

"You'll have to write my reply to Ron now," Harry teased. "I don't think I can hold a quill properly anymore. I doubt I can walk on two legs and keep my balance, either..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're a big baby, you know that?", she teased back.

Harry tried walking around on all fours, but it was awkward, because his legs were so much longer than his arms, so he gave that up and tried walking normally. He found that it was in fact possible, as long as he went about it slowly. Carefully, he made his way back to the sofa, and sat down.

Hermione picked up a piece of parchment, a book, a bottle of ink, and a quill from her pile of materials on the floor, and carried them over to the sofa, where she sat down beside Harry. Using the book as a flat surface, she began scribing said letter to Ron.

---

Dear Ron,

We are enjoying ourselves. We visited with Hagrid this afternoon, and went swimming in the lake afterward. Then we got some schoolwork out of the way.

Professor Snape seems to have taken it upon himself to make things more difficult for us. He tried to convince McGonagall to give us more schoolwork, but she didn't think we needed it, fortunately. We'll have to be careful to avoid him now.

Harry's fingers are a bit stiff at the moment, so he asked me to tell you his next move is g1 to f3.

Do you think you could send some of your mum's treats to us? We would really appreciate it.

Hermione

---

Crookshanks (who had been napping on the back of the sofa) woke up and started licking Hermione's ears. She shrieked from being startled and tickled by this, much to Harry's amusement.

"Well, at least Crookshanks has good taste," Harry teased.

Harry picked up Crookshanks and set him in his lap. Then the cat started licking one of Harry's paws.

Hermione snickered. "He probably thinks you're his big brother now, or something."

"He can think whatever he wants, as long as he doesn't bring any of his prey to me for first pickings..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly!" 


	16. An impromptu experiment

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 16

"I'll run upstairs and send this off," Harry announced as he picked up the letter Hermione had just written, and stood up.

Hermione looked up at him. "Do you mind if I come with you? It's been a while since I've seen Hedwig."

Harry shrugged. "You can come if you want."

Hermione smiled a bit and followed Harry up the spiral staircase to his dormitory.

---

Hermione sat on the edge of Harry's (still unmade) bed and let Hedwig hop onto her arm. "Hello there," she said as she stroked the owl's white feathers. "Such a good owl..."

Harry sat down on the edge of Ron's bed and watched for a moment, before attaching the letter to Hedwig's leg and opening the window.

"Take this to Ron at the Burrow for me, will you, Hedwig?", Hermione asked the owl.

Hedwig nodded to Hermione, then turned around on her arm before flying out the window and dissappearing into the night sky.

Hermione then noticed the moving photo on Harry's nightstand--the one he'd been looking at the previous evening, showing him, her, and Ron goofing off with their scarves tied together while snow was falling around them. She adjusted her legs so she was sitting Indian-style as she picked it up to examine it more closely.

"That's my favorite picture of us together," Harry commented.

"It did turn out great, didn't it?" She suddenly remembered something and chuckled a bit. "I was standing on tiptoes when Colin took this, trying to make myself even with you, but still came up a bit short."

Gears started grinding in Harry's head. He looked down at the floor, trying to remember how the description of that spell they'd been practicing was worded in the book they'd gotten it from...

Hermione squinted hard at the photo. "I do believe that's Draco in the background, throwing a snowball at Hagrid's hut...pity, a blemish on an otherwise perfect photo..."

But Harry interrupted her. "Hermione...You just gave me an idea about that spell."

She sat the picture back down and inclined her head. "Oh?"

"It allows turning any human or animal into any other animal, right?"

She nodded, unsure of what he was getting at. "As long as it's in the same kingdom. Mammal to mammal, avian to avian, et cetera..."

Harry stood up and started pacing the room, unconsciously gesticulating by waving his paw up and down as he thought out loud. "What if we used it to turn something into the same species as it already was?"

She raised an eyebrow, not following. "But why would we want to do that? What would it possibly accomplish?"

"Because we just found out that the spell lets us make selective changes," he reminded her. "Do you mind if I try a little experiment on you?"

Hermione shrugged. She was getting a bit tired, but thought she'd humor Harry since he seemed enthusiastic about this. "I don't think this will work. But...all right. Shall I clear your mind?"

Harry nodded.

Hermione raised her wand to Harry and cast /clarus mentis/ on him.

This had the obvious side effect of breaking Harry's concentration that was sustaining Hermione's fox-like eyes and ears.

While Harry was imagining himself floating in blackness due to the charm, Hermione was distracted by herself reverting to normal, which in turn caused her to lose her concentration that was sustaining Harry's paws.

And so Harry reverted to normal as well. He nearly dropped his wand as the bones in his wand-hand (wand-paw?) realigned themselves.

After a moment of preparing, Harry opened his eyes, and cast /animalis metamorphosis/ on Hermione.

Hermione wasn't sure what to expect this time. She could've asked Harry beforehand, but that would've taken the fun out of it, wouldn't it? As the light from his wand surrounded her, she felt a tingling sensation over her entire body, accompanied by some friction from her clothing shifting around.

When all was said and done, Hermione opened her eyes and looked down at herself, not seeing or feeling any obvious changes. "What did you do?", she asked, looking up at him expectantly.

Harry rubbed his forehead. "Stand up, please."

Hermione complied, sliding her legs over the edge of the bed and standing up in front of Harry. Something wasn't quite right...

Her jaw promptly dropped about an inch as she came to the realization that Harry's eyes were now about two inches /below/ her own, instead of four inches /above, which they should've been. Her blouse and pant-legs now looked too short for her. A sliver of her belly was now visible below her blouse. Her waist and hips were close to the same circumference as they were before, so her bluejeans were only a bit tighter than they had been previously.

"Whoa..."

Harry smirked, looking slightly upwards at her. "Guess you don't need to stand on tiptoes now, do you?"

Hermione tried walking around, finding it a bit awkward due to her center of gravity being a bit higher from where she was accustomed to it being. She held on to one of the bedposts to keep her balance.

"This is surreal. Do you realize the implications of this?", she asked.

Harry didn't say anything, knowing she'd soon go into dissertation mode...

...Like clockwork. "With practice, using this spell, we could make someone into a doppelganger of someone else, by adjusting their height, weight, hair, and facial proportions. It wouldn't be as effective as the polyjuice potion, of course, but it has the obvious advantage of not requiring a month of brewing...just a lot of concentration. No hair sample needed. No one-hour time limit. Not that I suggest this is an ethical thing to do, mind you, but...from our experience at Hogwarts, I can easily imagine situations arising where it would be to our advantage to temporarily impersonate someone, even if only crudely..."

"My thoughts exactly," Harry said with a grin. 


	17. A hypothetical menagerie

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 17

Hermione looked at herself in a full-length mirror attached to Harry's wardrobe cabinet, admiring her temporary stature. She appeared leaner than before, since her waist measurement hadn't changed much, just her height. Finally, she yawned, and turned to face Harry again.

"I should get to bed," she announced.

Harry nodded. "I'll see you at breakfast, then."

But instead of immediately turning to leave, Hermione stepped towards him and embraced him.

Harry hadn't expected that. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged back just as tightly.

"Good night, Harry," she said softly. "And thank you. I had fun today."

"Good night," he said back. He lost his concentration before they let go of each other.

Hermione shrank about six inches in a matter of seconds as the spell broke, which would have been justifiable cause for alarm under any other circumstances.

Harry winced. "Sorry."

"Well, it was fun while it lasted. It's probably better that I returned to normal here anyway, instead of on the staircase, where I could've tripped."

"You do have a valid point there," he admitted.

And then Hermione dissappeared through the door.

Harry dimmed the lights and sat down in the window, reflecting on the first full day they'd just spent together. Already they had an excellent start on the transfiguration spell. They would just have to practice on each other as often as they could until they learned to sustain multiple changes simultaneously. If they got bored with animals, they could try to duplicate the appearances of people they knew, but that would take yet more effort since the facial proportions would have to be nearly perfect to be convincing.

He'd always liked and gotten along well with Hermione, but since their conversation that morning, he couldn't really think of her the same way anymore. Every moment they spent together made him feel good inside, as though her personality perfectly complemented his and made up for his weaknesses.

Harry forced himself to lay down in bed. If tomorrow was as busy as today had been, he'd need plenty of rest.

---

The next morning, Harry arose a bit before dawn, due to a tiny owl zooming and flapping its wings around his head.

Reluctantly, Harry rolled out of bed and fumbled around for his glasses on the nightstand, then extended an arm for the owl to land on. Instantly he recognized the tiny owl as the one Sirius had used to send him a letter right before the end of the school year (see note below), which Ron had accepted as a replacement for Scabbers. A letter was attached to its leg.

---

Harry and Hermione,

I'll send Hedwig back this afternoon with a package.

Everything is normal here. I.E. Percy is being as annoying as ever.

b8-c6

Ron

---

Harry chuckled. He imagined that if it were possible to transfigure Percy into a bird, he'd make a great peacock, since he loved to strut around and look important.

He updated the chessboard he'd set out earlier on Ron's bed and figured out his next move, then jotted down a reply.

---

Ron,

Look forward to receiving your package.

f1 to c4

Harry

---

"Take this back to Ron, please," he said to Pigwidgeon as he attached the letter.

Pig excitedly took off, circling the room a few times before exiting through the window.

---

Later, Harry made it down to the common room, his hair still wet from taking a shower.

Hermione was, unsurprisingly, curled up on the couch reading a book, apparently poring over their potions textbook again.

Harry sat down on the other end, resting his arm on the sofa's back as he looked towards her.

She closed her book and looked up at him expectantly.

"Hermione, if you were to transfigure Ron, what animal would you pick?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Maybe a Great Dane. They're loyal and protective, but mostly harmless."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "They're tall, too. I can picture him as one so easily."

Hermione smirked. "Don't tell him I that I called him /mostly harmless/."

"Of course. How about Hagrid?"

"A grizzly bear would correspond to his appearance, but a teddy bear would correspond to his demeanor..."

"Dumbledore?"

"Definitely an owl."

"But that's not a mammal."

She nudged his thigh with her foot. "Ask a hypothetical question, get a hypothetical answer. We're definitely /not/ planning to transfigure the headmaster!"

Harry conceded. "Alright, fair enough."

Hermione leaned back on the arm of the sofa and crossed her arms behind her head. "This is fun, though. What made you bring up the subject?"

"I got a letter back from Ron, and he mentioned Percy..."

"Peacock."

Harry grinned. "That's precisely what I thought. Obviously, my cousin Dudley would be a pig, my uncle Vernon would be a donkey because he's so stubborn, my aunt Petunia would be a horse, Draco would be a weasel..."

"All right, now you're being a bit mean," she said as she nudged him again with her foot. "But why did you pick a horse for your aunt?"

"Well, if you ever saw her face, you'd see a certain resemblance."

Hermione covered her mouth, giggling. "Oh, dear."

Harry thought he heard something behind him, and sure enough, the table was set. "Let's have breakfast."

Hermione nodded. "And afterwards, we can get back to transfiguring each other. I'm eager to practice and experiment on you."

Something in her tone of voice told Harry it would indeed be a busy day.

(note: Obviously, since Harry and Hermione didn't board the train with Ron at the end of their third year, I've had to bend the sequence of events slightly to allow for Sirius' letter at the end of the third book.) 


	18. A Confession

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 18

After breakfast, they returned to their usual spot on the floor to practice.

"I want to try something different," Hermione announced.

Harry nodded. "Go ahead. I trust you."

Hermione smiled, then cast /animalis metamorphosis/ on him.

After the spell had taken effect, there was no obvious change to Harry's appearance, but he looked around and blinked a lot. "Everything's blurry," he said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Look towards me, Harry."

He did, then Hermione reached out and pulled off his glasses.

Suddenly, everything was sharp for him. "Whoa. What did you do to my eyes?"

"Simple. I just imagined them being more spherical. Your nearsightedness is caused by their shape being imperfect, after all."

Harry nodded, and reached to pick up Hermione's book from the sofa. He flipped it to a random page to examine for a moment. "I don't think my sight is quite 20/20, but it's good enough to read with." He smiled. "Brilliant!"

Hermione smirked. "Well, I knew it wouldn't be perfect. I was just eyeballing it in my mind, after all."

Harry groaned. "Ohhh, that was bad."

Hermione chuckled while Harry prepared himself. Since they were only trying small changes for the moment, they didn't bother with the mind-clearing spell.

Harry cast /animalis metamorphosis/ on her.

Suddenly the hair on her head began growing at an alarming rate, until it was about five feet long in the back, but the shorter hair above her eyes remained its original length so her face wasn't obstructed.

"That felt really weird," she said when it was finished, then she looked down to see her thick, voluminous hair pooling around her. She stood up, and when she did so, her hair nearly reached the floor. "It's heavier than you'd imagine. My head keeps wanting to tilt back from the weight of it all."

"Sorry, I didn't think of that."

Hermione wandered over to the full-length mirror near the portrait-hole to see how all this looked.

"Not bad," she mused.

"Stunning is more like it," Harry corrected as he stood beside her.

Hermione blushed. "Thanks. It would take years to get it this long, unless I used another spell to accomplish the task."

Harry blinked. "You'd actually consider doing that?"

"It's way too long for the dress code here, though, and somewhat unwieldly. I would consider making it elbow-length, however."

"I could live with that," Harry admitted.

Hermione smirked, and turned around to face him. "So you like foxgirls and long hair, do you?", she said, teasingly. "Trying to turn me into your ideal girlfriend, are you? Hmmm?"

Harry blushed profusely, and turned around to avert her gaze.

Hermione chuckled. "You know I'm just teasing you." She reached up grab his shoulders from behind as he made his way back to the sofa.

"You've been doing that a lot lately," Harry observed.

Hermione grinned. "This, from the person who told me I needed to /loosen up/ just a few days ago?"

Harry chuckled, and sat down. "Well, you seem to have taken my advice to heart, at least."

Hermione joined him by his side. "Sorry, but you know I only tease you because..."

"Because what?"

Hermione looked away, trying to think how best to word things.

Harry looked at her and waited patiently.

"Harry, I think I feel more comfortable being around you than anyone else I know. It's a neat feeling."

Harry was a bit taken aback. "Oh?"

Hermione paused to collect her thoughts. "To be honest, I don't like being serious all the time. But when we're alone, I don't feel like I have to be. I don't have anything to prove to you."

Harry blinked in surprise. "You mean it's just something you do for everyone else's benefit?"

Hermione looked down and nodded silently.

"Why?"

"My parents are always serious, and I've grown to accept that as what they expect from me. And so it became what I wanted others to think of me as, particularly since I'm fighting a stereotype."

"Being muggle-born, you mean."

"Yes."

"How you want others to think of you is your own business. But, I do like seeing this other side of you," he admitted.

Hermione smiled a bit.

"And, if it helps any, I feel the same way. About being more comfortable around you, I mean."

Hermione looked back up at him. "I knew you trusted me, but I didn't realize you felt like that too."

"Hermione..."

"Yes?"

"I know this sounds bad, but this situation I'm in...with my family threatened...I mean, I'd never wish harm to befall them, but I'm really enjoying this opportunity to spend time with you."

Hermione nodded. "Well, I'd expect it to be more pleasant than being locked up in your room, at least."

"No, it's much more than that. I mean, there's really nowhere I'd rather be than by your side. I don't care if it's at Hogwarts or at the Dursleys or anywhere else."

Hermione's eyes widened.

He paused, trying to collect his thoughts.

Hermione turned to look at him expectantly.

Harry was leaning forward, towards the fireplace. His hands were clasped in his lap, his thumbs all fidgety.

"I know it's only been a few days, Hermione. But we've known each other so long..."

"Harry...?"

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

Hermione hesitantly wrapped an arm around his back. "Don't feel pressured into saying something you don't mean," she cautioned.

"But I do mean it, Hermione. I'm in love with you." 


	19. An untimely interruption

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 19

Hermione hesitantly wrapped an arm around his back. "Don't feel pressured into saying something you don't mean," she cautioned.

"But I do mean it, Hermione. I'm in love with you."

---

Harry continued looking down, wondering what expression was playing across Hermione's face upon hearing this confession. He was afraid to look up, fearing rejection from being too bold.

Hermione said nothing immediately, taking a moment to think. The suddenness of the news had taken her by surprise, flooding her with emotions, and she wasn't sure how to respond. She felt her eyes start to water. Was she happy? Was she ready for this? Were /they/ ready for this?

"Harry," she began softly.

He turned his head to face her, and saw the tears starting to trickle down. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have said that."

Hermione shook her head. "No. If you meant it, then don't you dare take it back."

"I..." Harry hesitated. "I meant what I said."

Hermione suddenly leaned towards Harry and hugged him tightly, and cried softly into his shoulder.

Harry blinked, and wrapped his own arms around her. "Hermione? This isn't quite how I expected you to react..."

She chuckled a bit, and loosened her grip so she could lean back and look him in the face.

"Are you going to be all right?" His voice had a hint of concern.

"I will be. It's just that nobody's ever told me that before." She paused to wipe her face dry. "Well, except for my parents, but that doesn't count. Harry, you mean a lot to me, and I admit I was hopeful that our being together would lead to something more, but I kept worrying that I was chasing after a dream, something I could never catch..."

"Then...you feel...the same way? I mean, to that degree?" He knew she /liked/ him, but whether she /loved/ him was another matter.

She nodded silently. "I love you, too, Harry."

Harry could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as his self-doubt was replaced with confidence. He tightened his grip on Hermione's shoulders, and without thinking, started pulling her towards him.

Hermione wasn't about to resist. Her heart was starting to race faster and faster.

Their lips were mere inches apart.

Suddenly, the portrait hole door creaked open, startling them. They jumped up and looked towards it, both wondering who was there, and both hoping it wasn't McGonagall. Hermione's hair, previously elongated by Harry's spell, receded back to its proper length. Likewise, Harry's eyes returned to their natural shape, and the world around him became blurry again.

Hagrid boldly stepped inside and made his way towards them. "Harry! Hermione! Come quick!" Not mindful of where he was walking, he stepped on Harry's glasses, which Hermione had set on the floor previously when they were experimenting with the transformation spell.

Hermione cringed, and walked around Hagrid to pick up Harry's glasses. "/Occulus repairem!/" she cast, causing the broken lenses and frame to mend themselves. She handed the glasses back to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry said as he put them back on. "Hagrid, what's the matter?" It seemed that Hagrid hadn't noticed Hermione's hair.

"It's Bubbles!"

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances.

"You found her?", Hermione asked.

"Aye. And she's sick! Dumbledore ain't here, and I don' know who else teh turn to!"

---

The three raced out of the tower and down a path that led to a part of the lake that was surrounded by trees on three sides.

As they approached the end of the path, Hagrid slowed down to a walking pace, and held his arm out to caution Harry and Hermione. "Now, don' make any sudden moves!"

"We understand," Hermione replied.

Harry and Hermione held hands, unsure of what they were about to face.

They rounded the last corner, and Hagrid stood aside to give them a clear view.

Their eyes widened and their jaws gaped open in unison. There was no question, Bubbles was real. And HUGE. Over fifty feet long, her bulk was beached on the shore of the lake, her serpentine neck laying flat on the ground, her eyes only half-open. Her shape resembled that of a plesiosaur, with four large fins instead of arms and legs, and a tail to rival her neck in length. Her skin was gray, smooth, and ever-so-slightly fuzzy. If anything, she looked more gentle than monstrous.

"Ain' she magnificent?", Hagrid couldn't help but say, as if he was its proud owner.

"What a beautiful creature," Hermione said as she let go of Harry's hand and made her way up to the creature's head. She kneeled down beside it, gently placing a hand on its muzzle as she did so. She felt warm air escape its nostrils as Bubbles exhaled. "You were right, it's neither a kelpie nor a boggart. I don't think this species is even in Magical Creatures and Where to Find Them."

Harry walked around to the creature's side, and placed a hand on its central bulge. He could feel that her breathing wasn't steady.

"Can yeh do anythin' for her?", Hagrid asked, hopefully.

Hermione examined Bubble's eyes. "I'm guessing...that she ate something that doesn't agree with her."

"Any ideas?," Harry asked, not knowing anything about how to care for a beast such as this.

"I have one, but you're not going to like it," she replied. "We need to use a regurgitation spell."

At that, Harry made a face, unconsciously sticking his tongue out. 


	20. A close call

Someone to Keep Him Company

"Any ideas," Harry asked, not knowing anything about how to care for a beast such as this.

"I have one, but you're not going to like it," she replied. "We need to use a regurgitation spell."

At that, Harry made a face, unconsciously sticking his tongue out.

---

Chapter 20

Hagrid frowned, realizing what Hermione was suggesting. "Yeh think she's been poisoned?"

The young witch nodded. "Look at her pupils. I'm almost certain of it."

"Uhm, want me to fetch a bucket or something...?", Harry offered. After he said it, he wondered where he'd find one big enough for the job at hand.

Hermione shook her head. "There's no time, we have to do this now. Stand aside so you don't get caught in the spell."

Harry didn't need to be told twice. Not wanting to take any chances, he quickly moved to stand behind Hermione.

Hermione briefly closed her eyes as she tried to remember the incantation, then drew her wand and pointed it at Bubbles. "/Eructo protinus/"

The three all watched intently as Bubble's eyes widened, accompanied by a great rumbling sound. They all took a few steps back, anticipating the worst.

"BLEAHHGH!"

The contents of Bubble's stomach violently erupted into a huge, unsightly, multicolored mess that smelled even worse than it looked. The beast didn't look very happy about losing its lunch, but it lacked the energy to do anything about it.

Harry and Hermione pinched their noses. "Ewww!", they said in unison.

Hagrid ran up to Bubble's side and tried to comfort her. "There, there! Whatever it was yeh ate that made yeh sick is all out of yeh now!"

"I know a spell that'll make that mess dissappear," Harry volunteered, as he began digging out his wand.

"No, wait," Hermione interrupted. "We need to take a sample of it first so we can figure out what she ate. Hagrid, do you have a jar we can use?"

"Should be one in my cabin," he answered, while gently stroking Bubbles' neck.

Harry nodded, then ran off towards Hagrid's hut, all too happy to put some distance between him and the malodorous mess.

Upon reaching the cabin, Harry swung the heavy door open and rummaged through the shelves until he found an empty glass jar. "This ought to be big enough," he said to himself as he gathered it.

Another few seconds, and he was outside, ready to sprint back down to the lake. But something told him he was no longer alone.

Someone grabbed him at the shoulder from behind. "Mister Potter!"

Harry knew that cold, monotone voice. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He hesitantly turned his head and looked up into Professor Snape's inky black eyes. 'I shouldn't have left Hermione's side,' he thought to himself.

"Where is Miss Granger?", Snape demanded.

"She's...down by the lake, sir."

"Were you two not instructed to stay together at all times?"

"We were, sir. But..."

"No exceptions! Take me to her this instant!"

'Fine mess I've gotten us into this time,' Harry thought. What would happen if Snape saw Bubbles? While Hagrid might be vindicated, Harry was worried about what the potions master might do to the poor creature.

Reluctantly, Harry said, "Yes, sir," and led the way back to the shore. But he feigned a sprained ankle as an excuse to walk as slowly as possible. He hoped Hermione or Hagrid would wonder what was taking him so long to fetch the jar, and go after him, and find him with Snape, thus precluding Snape from getting to the shore and finding Bubbles.

But that didn't happen. Instead, the two made it all the way back to the shore without interruption.

But Bubbles was, thankfully, nowhere to be found. Hagrid was missing as well.

"Great Merlin, what is that odor!", Snape demanded to know.

Hermione turned around and gasped upon realizing that Snape had caught the two of them separated. She looked down at Bubbles' vomit and did some quick thinking. "I botched a spell, causing us to throw up, sir."

Snape followed Hermione's gaze to the mess on the ground, and raised an eyebrow. "I find that highly unlikely on two counts, Miss Granger. Firstly, even your combined stomach capacity couldn't possibly contain /that," he gestured towards it for emphasis, "And secondly, I've never known you to so horribly botch any spell. Explain this."

Hermione countered, "I was trying to 'engorgio' the breakfast in our stomachs so we could skip lunch, sir."

Snape had to admit that her story was plausible and consistent with the evidence. "A foolish thing to attempt."

"I realize that now, sir." Hermione looked down in mock embarrassment, trying to look convincing.

Harry smiled ever so slightly to himself, thinking for the moment that they might actually get away with the lie and lose Snape's interest in pursuing the matter.

"Neither of you seems to have soiled your clothes from this incident," Snape observed.

'Arrgh, he doesn't miss anything,' Harry thought. "I used a vanishing spell on it, sir."

"Then why didn't you vanish the remainder of the mess on the ground at the same time, Mister Potter?"

A friendly voice suddenly chimed in. "I sent 'im to fetch a jar to collect some of it," Hagrid announced. He waded out of the water, his clothes dripping wet.

Snape rolled his eyes. "And why, may I ask, would even one such as yourself want to do collect some of this mess?"

"Trust me, Professor, yeh don' wanna know." Hagrid offered a mischevious grin and winked at Harry.

"No, I suppose I really don't. But as for the two of you, you've just broken a rule by being out of each other's sight. One hundred points from Gryff...blast it, of course the counters won't work during the summer..."

Harry suppressed a chuckle, but quickly regained his composure so as not to worsen the situation.

"But Professor Snape/I/ sent 'im away...it's my fault, not theirs."

"That's no excuse, Hagrid. Except in an emergency, for their own safety, they are not to be separated. I suppose I'll just have to report this little incident to Professor McGonagall and have her deal with it..."

Hermione's eyes widened. "No, Professor, please don't!"

Snape adopted a smug expression. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Uhm...", Harry stammered, "Maybe we could do a favor for you."

Snape looked interested in the idea. "I'm listening, Mister Potter."

Harry swallowed, remembering something Ron had said when he first told him of his modified summer plans. "We could scrub your dirty cauldrons."

"And?"

Hermione added, "We could polish the glassware in the potions lab."

"And?"

Harry sighed, then had a deliciously brilliant thought. "We could organize and take inventory of the potions storeroom."

Snape rubbed his chin, considering. "Very well, I accept your offer. You will clean my cauldrons, glassware, and storeroom, by next week Saturday, and in exchange, I won't report you to Professor McGonagall."

"Yes, sir," Harry and Hermione said more or less together.

"Now, then, why don't you do something about this mess?" At that, Snape turned and headed back towards the castle.

"Phew! That was close!", Harry commented.

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help," Hagrid sighed, reaching an arm around Harry and Hermione. "Thanks fer not tellin' him the truth. I hate to think what he might do if he found Bubbles."

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't think when I went to get the jar."

Hermione shook her head. "It's not entirely your fault. I should've realized the risk, too."

"So what happened to Bubbles after I went to get the jar?", Harry asked.

"She mustered up some strength and went back into the water. Probably a bit scared now," Hagrid answered.

Hermione took the jar from Harry's hands and scooped up some of Bubble's vomit into it, then tightened the lid on it.

Harry promptly cast the vanishing spell on the rest of the mess.

"Now what?", Hagrid asked.

"First, we need to figure out what it is that Bubbles ate. Then we need to figure out where she came from. Come on, Harry...we have a lot of research to do."

The two waved to Hagrid and walked back towards the castle.

Hermione took Harry's hand and squeezed it a little. "That bribe was the perfect excuse to get us into Snape's store room, Harry. Now we can get the ingredients to make the concentration potion...and I have a feeling we're going to be needing it quite soon."

"I'm glad you approve. I'm just glad he accepted the offer...but somehow I feel like we just made a deal with the devil. There's nothing to keep him from talking after we've done our work for him."

Hermione nodded. "True. He very well might threaten to inform her anyway, demanding more concessions from us to keep quiet."

Harry sighed. It would be a long summer...but at least he had Hermione with him. That made all the difference in the world. 


	21. An overdue chapter

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 21

Harry and Hermione returned to Gryffindor tower for lunch. After eating sandwiches prepared by the house elves, the promised package from Ron arrived by owl, with the following note attached:

---

H&H,

Ginny made these cookies for you. (1)

FYI, Mom grounded me for a week when she found out I'd snuck off to help Fred and George with an "experiment" earlier and got hurt. I'm not in any pain though, with any luck my tongue will grow back by the time I'm free to leave my room.

At least now I won't have to taste Mom's porridge for a little while.

Hope you're having more fun than me.

f8-c5 (2)

Ron

---

"Mmmm. These are good," Harry spoke while chewing one of the aforementioned cookies.

"I told you Ginny was fond of you," Hermione commented upon reading the letter. "You'd better watch out next year."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You've got to help me get her straigtened out," he pleaded.

Hermione smirked. "Well, if things between us continue as they have been, I'll tell her you're taken when class resumes."

Harry rather liked the sound of that. "Fair enough. But how will you break the news to Ron?"

"Very gently. He has a crush on me that he won't admit, but I can't reciprocate it. I know he'll be hurt. He knew I didn't want to go with my parents on their working vacation, (3) so I think he was expecting me to ask to stay at the Burrow this summer."

"Oh. I didn't realize that, about spending the summer with him."

Hermione stood up from the makeshift dinner table and walked over to another table where they'd set Hagrid's bottle down earlier, with Bubble's partially-digested food inside. "I'm taking this up to my room, I have a spell in my notes somewhere that should prove useful. I'll be back shortly." With that, she dissappeared up the girls' staircase.

Harry sighed, and wondered if he would have a chance to resume his unfinished business with Hermione later. Why couldn't Hagrid have barged in just a few minutes later that morning? (4) He supposed he would have to be patient. At least time was on his side for once in his life.

Harry decided to use the moment to write back to Ron.

---

Ron,

Sorry to hear about your predicament. The variety and effectiveness of medications available to wizards never ceases to amaze me. Losing your tongue reminds me of the time in second year when Lockhart botched a spell and turned my arm to jelly. Pomfrey gave me something vile called Skel-grow which fixed it, though my joints in that arm have been a bit stiff ever since.

Hagrid has a new "pet", Bubbles. She's a shy sea monster of some sort living in the castle lake for no apparent reason. She made an appearance this morning but was sick. Hermione thought she'd been poisoned, so she made her throw up. Now we're trying to figure out what she ate, what she is, where she belongs, and how to get her there so she'll be safe.

Oh, we had to bribe Snape to stay out of trouble...ugh! We really will be cleaning his dirty cauldrons and more for a few days, after all. But at least it will give us a chance to clean his storage room (wink).

Harry

P.S. b2 to b4

P.P.S. The cookies were good. Please give our thanks to Ginny.

P.P.P.S. You should've seen the look on Snape's face when he tried to dock us 100 points but couldn't.

P.P.P.P.S. Bubble's vomit was even more repulsive than Malfoy. Believe it or not.

---

Harry went up to his room to send the letter off with Hedwig. Afterwards, he sat on his bed for a moment, and again reached to pick up his favorite photograph, the one of him, Ron, and Hermione. 'Maybe I can get a new photo of just Hermione and me sometime,' he thought. That would have to wait for later, however. Harry didn't even have a magic camera available to him.

---

When Harry returned to the common room, he found Hermione already there, with a smug look on her face. She was holding a wad of small leafy plants.

"What are those?", Harry asked without really thinking.

"These," Hermione began, "are what Bubbles ate this morning, more or less. I simply adapted a 'repairem' spell to work with plant matter." She held the plants closer to Harry for him to get a better look.

Harry blinked. "They certainly smell better than that sample we took. You really are the most brilliant witch of your age."

Hermione blushed a bit. "I still don't know what these are, so we'll have to do some research yet. I was thinking you could try to identify the plant while I try to identify what species Bubbles is."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Harry agreed.

---

They spent the remainder of the afternoon at their favorite table in the library, one that afforded a view of the entryway but was still somewhat secluded.

Hermione was slowly dissappearing behind piles of books as she sat at the table, looking quite serious and frustrated.

Harry was seated opposite her, flipping through book after book, not making much progress himself. Eventually he folded his arms and buried his face in them on top of a thick, dusty book.

Hermione took a moment to glance over at Harry. "Tired?", she asked.

"No, I'm just frustrated. So far I've only identified what these plants are not. Have you had any luck?"

"No. Most of the references I can find to creatures that fit Bubbles' description dismiss them outright as kelpies or sea serpents."

"So you don't think she's a sea serpent?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, Bubbles is warm-blooded." At that, she closed the book she'd been flipping through and pushed it aside.

Harry sighed. "What now, then?"

"I think we'll have to ask Professor Dumbledore for help when he returns, or owl him. Let's put these books away for now, I don't they're not going to be of any use to us."

Harry nodded and reluctantly stood up, taking a stack of books in his arms, and dissappeared down an aisle while Hermione remained at the table.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"I was thinking, when we get back to the tower, we could pick up where we left off this morning."

The next thing Hermione heard was the crashing sound of a stack of books being dropped.

---

(1) Yes, I'm aware the British would actually call them biscuits, not cookies.

(2) This is in response to Harry's last move waaay back in chapter 17. I'm actually reproducing a "classic" game here.

(3) Yes, I'm aware the British call vacations "holidays".

(4) see chapter 19 


	22. A Perfect Evening

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 22

Just before sundown, Harry and Hermione began making their way back towards Gryffindor Tower. As they approached the portrait-hole, they met Professor McGonagall in the corridor, her arms full with a stack of parchment notebooks.

"Hello, Professor," Hermione greeted.

McGonagall turned to face the couple. "Miss Granger. Mr. Potter. How have you two been doing?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, unsure of how much they should reveal of the events of the past few days.

Finally, Hermione spoke up. "We've been getting along well, and practicing a few spells, but we haven't worked much on our summer assignments since we last spoke."

"Oh? What sort of spells have you been practicing?"

Harry tensed up. _Uh-oh. We don't dare tell her about animalis metamorphosis yet._

Thinking quickly, Hermione volunteered, "Harry's mastered the vanishing spell, for one...he used it to clean up a mess we made earlier."

Harry almost snorted at that. _She conveniently neglected to mention the nature of said mess._

McGonagall nodded with approval. "Oh, I brought these for you..." She offered the books to Hermione. "These are my notes from when I was a fourth-year student. I thought you might like to look through them."

"Oh, thank you," Hermione said as she accepted them. "I've already finished reading the textbooks you loaned me earlier."

McGonagall arched an eyebrow. "While I admire your dedication to studying, I do hope you two manage to enjoy yourselves some this summer, instead of burying your noses in books all the time. I saw you in the library earlier, but I didn't want to disturb you."

_Strange that we didn't see her, _Harry thought. "Don't worry Professor, we're already enjoying it a lot."

"Very well. I'll be on my way, then...oh, and Professor Dumbledore sent word that he'll be returning next week."

"Good night, Professor," Harry and Hermione said simultaneously.

After McGonagall went down the moving staircases, Harry got a case of goosebumps from anticipation, thanks to Hermione's comment earlier (1). As much as he liked her, he was still more than a bit shy about kissing, but he knew the opportunity for their first kiss would present itself any minute now.

"Harry, look..." Hermione was pointing down at the floor just in front of the portrait-hole. Very large, wet footprints led up to the hole and back out again.

Harry squatted down to examine the prints, then looked off towards the direction they led. "Hagrid must've come looking for us."

"You don't suppose he found Bubbles again, do you?"

"It's possible. But it's starting to get dark. If we're caught outside past curfew..."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You _do_ still have your father's cloak, don't you?"

_I'd almost forgotten about that. _"Good point. I'll grab it as soon as we get inside, then we can head out to find Hagrid." _So much for picking up where we left off._

--

Harry and Hermione donned the invisibility cloak, and each having an arm wrapped around the other's shoulder, they sneaked past Mr. Filch, even though Mrs. Norris mewed at them, and left the castle undetected.

The oil lamps were on in Hagrid's hut, but when they knocked, there was no answer.

"Let's walk around the lake and see if he's there," Hermione suggested.

"Ok."

Fortunately for them, the moon was full and the sky was clear, so they had just enough light to move about without tripping over things. The wind was calm, cicadas were chirping, and fireflies were fluttering about. The temperature had dropped since their lunch-time adventure, so the air was just a bit on the cool side.

"It's a perfect night, isn't it?", Hermione mused.

"I suppose," Harry answered.

_He's probably a bit upset that our plans changed. I'll have to make it up to him later._

They walked for twenty more minutes before they heard a voice: "Still hungry, eh?"

Harry and Hermione quickened their pace until they caught up to the source of the voice, and spotted Hagrid. He was wading knee-deep in the lake, and holding a plump fish out towards Bubbles.

In response, the creature hesitantly bent its neck down and gently scooped the fish out of Hagrid's hand. Hagrid then used his other hand to pat the side of Bubbles' neck.

Harry pulled the hood off of the cloak as they approached. "Hagrid! So you did find her again!"

Hagrid slowly turned, and was a bit startled to see Harry and Hermione's heads floating in mid-air above the lake's shore. "Hey yeh two! I was just up at the tower lookin' for yeh!"

Hermione liberated herself from the cloak completely, and looked up at Bubbles, who was now looking back at her. "I'm glad she wasn't frightened away for good after I cast that spell on her earlier."

Harry folded the cloak and tucked it beneath a large, distinctive rock so he'd be able to find it again.

"Do you think she'll still let us pet her?", Hermione asked.

"You can try," Hagrid answered. "Come out into the water by her side."

Harry and Hermione sat down on a log to remove their shoes and socks and roll up their pant legs, then they waded out into the lake. Fortunately, the water wasn't as cold as either expected, since the sun had been beating down on it all day.

Hermione made her way over to Bubbles' side and leaned into her; she could feel the creature breathing more calmly and regularly than before. "Obviously she's feeling better now."

As soon as she said that, Bubbles gracefully swung her serpentine neck around, and gently nudged Hermione on the back.

Hermione giggled at the gesture.

"I think she likes you," Harry commented, as he patted Bubbles' neck.

"She probably remembers that she felt better soon after yeh cast yer spell on her," Hagrid suggested. "Why don't yeh try climbing on her back? Maybe she'll take yeh two fer a ride."

"Really? Do you think it's all right?", Hermione asked.

Bubbles was gently nudging Harry's chest now, while Harry patted her on the head.

"Go fer it," Hagrid prompted. "How off'n do yeh get a chance to ride a genuine Loch Ness monster?"

Bubbles seemed to be gesturing for them to get on. Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, then started climbing up Bubbles' side.

Hermione got into position right behind Bubbles' neck. Harry scooted himself up behind Hermione and held on to her sides.

Bubbles turned around to face the center of the lake, and began moving towards it. Once enough of her was below water, she started swimming with her four huge fins.

Harry was surprised by how quietly and quickly the creature was moving, and tightened his hold on Hermione, who likewise tightened her hold around Bubbles' neck. They were moving so fast, that they couldn't help but be reminded of their recent flight on Buckbeak a few weeks earlier. Hermione's hair blew into Harry's face, but he didn't seem to mind.

When they got to the far side of the lake, Bubbles slowed down and turned around, then headed back towards Hagrid, only at a more relaxed pace. The gamekeeper was only a tiny dot in the distance to them now.

"Harry, aren't you glad we broke curfew now?"

Harry nodded. "You were right, this is a perfect night."

"Well, almost."

Harry looked puzzled. "Almost? What would it take to make it perfect?"

While Bubbles was still carrying them back to the shore, Hermione smirked, and turned her head so she could see Harry's eyes. "This."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry, pulled him towards her, and kissed him.

--

(1) see the end of the last chapter


	23. An Unexpected Detour

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 23

"Hermione..."

Hermione smiled and brushed some of her hair out of Harry's face. "Yes?"

"I almost wish this night could last forever."

Hermione smirked. "The summer's still young, you know. There'll be plenty more nights..."

_But probably none as good as this one. _Harry wanted to kiss Hermione back, but they were drawing closer to Hagrid now, so it might be a bit embarrassing. He settled for holding her more tightly, and she faced forward again.

After they stopped, Hagrid walked around to Bubbles' side and raised his arms to help the two down. "How was the ride?"

"It was brilliant!", Harry exclaimed as he and Hermione took hold of Hagrid's hands and slid down the huge beast's side.

Once they were back in the water, Bubbles silently turned around and disappeared beneath the water's surface.

Hermione gave Hagrid a big hug. "Thank you for letting us ride her, Hagrid!"

Hagrid smiled and patted Hermione on the back. "Anythin' fer you two. But yeh'd best be gettin' back to the tower. Curfew an' all..."

Harry nodded. "We'll see you around, then. Thanks again!"

After wading back to the shore and finding their footwear and the invisibility cloak, they wrapped the cloak around themselves and started heading back to the castle. Harry took Hermione's hand and they intertwined their fingers.

As they drew nearer to the entrance, however, they saw Mr. Filch and Professor Snape standing there, conversing with one another. Instinctively, they walked right up to them without making a sound, and lingered there to overhear whatever they were saying.

"I reckon you wanted to find some more of those herbs, Professor?"

Snape inclined his head towards the full moon. "Indeed. The last batch I set out seems to have...disappeared."

"You don't think--"

"I'd rather not speculate before we have hard evidence. I'll make another attempt, but let them soak longer this time, to increase our chances of success. Are you ready?"

"Aye. Will we be takin' Hagrid this time?"

"I think we can manage on our own tonight. I am quite adept at defensive spells, you know."

Mr. Filch seemed to sneer a bit, as if he didn't like being reminded that he was a squib. "Very well."

Then Mr. Filch picked up a lantern and set out towards the Forbidden Forest, with Snape close behind.

Under the cloak, Harry and Hermione turned to face each other.

"I wonder what _that_ was all about?", Harry whispered.

"Do you want to follow them to find out what they're up to?"

Harry cringed, remembering previous excursions into the forest at night. "Well, you know I've never trusted Snape...I think I'll go. But you can stay in the tower if you want..."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'll go with you."

Harry blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Harry, we're losing precious time!"

Harry smiled, and they turned and sprinted to catch up to them.

--

Harry yawned. It seemed like they'd been following Filch and Snape for at least an hour. Although the full moon provided ample light to see ahead, a thick fog prevented them from seeing where they were stepping, which was somewhat disconcerting. They stayed far enough behind that they could step on an occasional branch without drawing attention to themselves, but close enough that they could still see Filch's lantern.

All four paused when a wolf's lonely howl pierced the eerie silence.

"Probably a werewolf," Snape commented, apparently not alarmed.

Mr. Filch seemed hesitant to continue.

"Go on. The sooner we find the herb, the sooner we can leave the forest."

Mr. Filch nodded silently, and resumed leading the way.

At the mention of werewolves, Harry couldn't help but remember their former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and their recent adventure just before the end of term. "I wonder where Professor Lupin is now," he whispered.

"Far away from here, I would expect," Hermione replied.

Eventually they reached a creek, and Mr. Filch turned to follow it for a ways before stopping.

Professor Snape crouched low to the ground. "Lumos," he said, causing the tip of his wand to light up so he could get a better look at the vegetation beside the creek. After a moment he shook his head. "These won't do. Let's continue."

Hermione sighed as Snape stood up and kept on walking.

"Sorry," Harry whispered. "I know you're tired too. I didn't think they'd take this long."

"It's not your fault," Hermione replied. "Besides, this could be important."

Ten minutes later Snape stopped Mr. Filch and again crouched low to the ground. He reached into his robes, pulling out a bag, then spent several minutes pulling up plants and dropping them into the bag.

"Will that be enough?", Filch asked.

"I believe so," Snape answered. "I suggest we depart before the centaurs decide to pay us a visit."

Harry was a bit frustrated. On one hand he hadn't had a clear view of the plants Snape pulled up, but if they lingered to examine the spot he was just digging, they wouldn't be able to follow him and Filch back out of the forest.

"We'll just have to wait for another opportunity to see what he dug up, Harry. Maybe when we go down to take inventory of his storeroom and clean his cauldrons and glassware..."

Harry nodded. "Good thinking. Whatever he dug up, he obviously thought it was important enough to risk coming out here at this time of night to get it..."

"I can't help but wonder why he didn't just plant some of it in one of Professor Sprout's greenhouses so he could save himself all this effort," Hermione whispered back.

"Come on, they're far enough ahead now that we can follow them without being heard again," Harry urged.

Hermione wasted no time in getting moving again.

--


	24. A Sign of Progress

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 24

When Harry made it down to the common room the next morning, Hermione was not there; usually he would find her already there, curled up with a hefty book.

_She must be sleeping in since we were up so late romping through the Forbidden Forest..._

To pass the time, he decided to sit down on the sofa and analyze the chess board on the coffee table to plan his next few moves against Ron.

Hermione came down the stairs half an hour later, still dressed in pajamas. She sat down and curled up on the opposite end of the sofa. "Good morning, Harry."

Harry was caught off-guard, having been too lost in thought. "'Morning Hermione...I didn't notice you there."

Hermione yawned. "Sorry, I'm still somewhat tired."

Harry nodded. "I can't really blame you. So...do you want to go down to the potions classroom today, and make due on our promise to Snape, and try to figure out what he's been up to?"

"To be honest, 'want' really isn't the word I would've used. The way I see it, we don't have much of a choice. But do you mind if we wait a couple hours? I'm not feeling particularly energetic at the moment. Besides, Professor Snape may not even be awake yet. He's always struck me as more...nocturnal."

"Fair enough." Harry glanced back down at the chess board, but decided he'd had enough of it for now, then returned his attention to Hermione. "Do you mind if I try that spell again?"

Hermione blinked. "Do you mean to tell me...that you feel up to casting that, despite not getting a full night's sleep, and knowing full well how much it'll drain you?"

Harry smirked. "I figure I can get away with casting it at least once this morning."

Hermione shrugged. "Go ahead, then."

Harry fingered his chin. "Could I get you to stand up, first?"

Hermione groaned since she didn't really want to move. "Why?"

"I just wanted to take advantage of the fact that you're wearing very loose clothing."

Hermione looked back at him quizzically, but reluctantly did as she was asked.

Harry raised his wand and said aloud, "Animalis metamorphosis!"

Hermione closed her eyes as she felt a familiar tingling as her ears shifted around again, as well as an unusual tingling in her posterior. _What on earth is he doing to me now?_

Finally, the spell was complete, and the light around Hermione subsided. She twisted her body around and tugged at her pajama bottoms to get a look at Harry's work: a very bushy fox-tail, with a white tip. Hermione adjusted her pajamas so the tail was liberated from the bottom part, but she remained facing Harry to keep her modesty. She blushed a bit, realizing that Harry had to be concentrating on the location of the change to maintain the tail...

"What do you think?", Harry asked.

She walked over to the mirror by the portrait-hole and admired her new appearance. "It's...very cute, I think," she finally declared. "Wait. Harry...?"

"Hrm?"

"You made these changes without me having to clear your mind at all this time!"

Harry blinked. "You're right, I completely forgot about that!" He walked over to Hermione's side and looked in the mirror with her. "I guess I'm getting better at this."

Hermione tried controlling her tail, managing to cause it to twitch a bit to either side. She smiled a bit in response. "Not necessarily..."

Harry glanced at Hermione with an arched eyebrow. "Oh?"

Hermione took a deep breath as she pondered something.

"What's on your mind, Hermione?"

"I think...my body might be becoming more accustomed to being transfigured, bit by bit, into a fox. Or it could be a combination of both that, and your concentration improving."

Harry scratched his head. "You mean, this might get exponentially easier as we practice more and more?"

Hermione nodded.

"Wicked," was all Harry could say.

"It's not fair that you're transfiguring me all the time, though. I should try to do you more often...but casting that spell just drains me so much. You're really fortunate to be so powerful." She turned to face him again. "I can't imagine what it must be like to cast the way you do...multiple normal spells in rapid succession without feeling exhausted, or a few complicated ones."

Harry blinked and countered. "Well, I can't imagine what it must be like for you to be so intelligent that you can solve any problem so quickly. Power isn't everything, it's knowing how to use it most effectively."

"True. But don't sell yourself short. You have a gift, Harry. One so great that most wizards would do anything to trade places with you."

The next thing Harry knew, Hermione was leaning into him and wrapping her arms around him. "Why don't we sit down and rest a while," he suggested.

Hermione nodded, and followed Harry back to the sofa, where they sat beside each other, with their feet propped up on the coffee table. Hermione had to experiment with her posture a bit to avoid having her tail in an uncomfortable position.

A few minutes later, Hermione fell asleep, with her head on Harry's shoulder.

_She was more tired than I thought. I guess we're in no hurry to get down to Snape's office, so I'll let her sleep in some more to compensate for staying up so late last night._

Soon though, Harry started finding it difficult to keep his own eyes open, and so he fell back asleep as well.

And while he dreamed about Hermione, her eyes and canine teeth spontaneously transfigured into their fox-like forms.


	25. A Rival Returns

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 25

Hermione was having a rather vivid dream, in which she'd become a vulpine animagus. The pleasant sensation of her actual partial transfiguration into a fox while she slept only served to reinforce the dream. A smile graced her lips. _I could get used to this warm feeling. It's as if there's a fire inside me that wants my true form to emerge and be free. My senses are so incredibly sensitive now, I can easily smell and hear things that I wouldn't notice as a human. This new form suits me perfectly. Could this be what I was meant to be?_

Harry gently tugged at Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione, wake up, it's lunch time..."

Hermione awoke, feeling quite rested. She looked back up at Harry, then realized she was completely human again. "I just had a wonderful dream. Oh, how long did your changes hold?"

"Your ears reverted to normal just as you woke up, your tail probably did as well though I couldn't see it. That would make three or four hours, I think...I guess our naps lasted longer than we planned." (1)

Hermione nodded, then stood up and stretched her arms. "Well, we had sufficient reason to be tired. That's possibly a new record, then. I'm hungrier than I've been in a long time...let's eat, then I'll get properly dressed, then we can go down to see Professor Snape." (2)

"Right."

--

After lunch, they found themselves in the corridor outside of Snape's office. Harry had only seen the inside on a few occasions, the most memorable being at the start of his second year when he and Ron got into trouble over a certain flying Ford Anglia.

Hermione hesitated before knocking on the door three times.

"Enter," came the reply. The door opened by itself; obviously it had been charmed to respond to Snape's voice.

As they stepped inside, their eyes widened in surprise. None other than Draco Malfoy was seated in front of Snape's desk. He was dressed in fine clothing, not unlike what his father would wear.

"Malfoy," Harry addressed his most-hated classmate. "What are you doing here?"

Draco sneered back. "For your information, Potter, I'm here on a matter of personal business." He gave both of them a nasty glare.

"Mister Malfoy's presence here is of no concern to you two," Snape declared. "I presume you're here to fulfill your end of our agreement?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, Professor."

Snape stood up from his desk and opened one of the two doors in the rear of the office. "Then come this way please," he said as he walked through the door.

Harry and Hermione followed him into the potions lab. As they did so, Harry could almost feel Draco's eyes glaring at him from behind.

The lab was a disaster area, with instruments and supplies strewn about on all the workbenches.

Snape turned around to face them. "Clean all the glassware and scrub every cauldron, per our agreement, then put them away in the proper cabinets. If you don't finish today, you can return tomorrow."

Harry nodded. "What about inventorying the storeroom?"

Snape fingered his chin. "I've changed my mind about that. Quite frankly, I don't trust you not to make off with my supplies, so that room will remain locked. Instead, you can scrub the stains out of the workbenches."

"But...we had an agreement!" Truthfully, Harry _had _wanted to take some ingredients for the concentration potion Hermione mentioned, but that was beside the point...

"Don't talk back to me, Mister Potter. I'm holding the cards here. If you don't like my terms, I can always inform Professor McGonagall about your little rule violation." His lips turned into a slight grin at that.

Harry gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, upset at having their agreement being unilaterally changed, and he did everything he could not to yell his objections on the matter. Not just because they couldn't get into the storeroom now, but because he didn't trust Snape to not tell McGonagall anyway.

Hermione saw Harry's reaction and placed an arm in front of him before he could say anything. "It's all right, Harry." She looked back up at Snape. "We understand, Professor."

Snape crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Well, it's good to see that at least one of you won't throw a tantrum over having your mischievous plans thwarted. If you give me any more trouble, then the deal is off." He then turned and walked back to his office, closing the door behind him.

Harry sighed.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way to get the ingredients we need, but that can wait. Right now we need to find out what Draco's doing here, and what herb Snape collected from the Forbidden Forest, and what he plans to do with it."

"You're right, Hermione."

"By the way, did you notice that Draco didn't seem surprised to see us?"

Harry nodded. "I'm sure Snape told him why we were here."

"But Snape wouldn't have any reason to tell him about us."

Harry frowned. "I see. So someone else probably told him."

Hermione nodded. "I can easily imagine his father mentioning it, since he would've known. Lucius is probably eager to see both of us kicked out. You, because of him temporarily losing his school governorship in our second year, and me, for besting his pure-blooded son in every subject except divination."

Harry smirked. "Don't forget that brilliant punch when Buckbeak was going to be executed."

Hermione chuckled. "That too."

Harry walked back to the door to Snape's office and put his ear up against it, trying to hear what Snape and Malfoy were discussing. "I can't hear them," he whispered in frustration.

"I've got an idea, Harry."

"What's on your mind?"

"A pair of fox ears would be convenient about now, don't you think?"

Harry couldn't help but grin mischievously at the suggestion.

--

(1) Neither Hermione nor Harry knew that Hermione's eyes and teeth had transfigured during their naps.

(2) Hermione was wearing pajamas at the end of the prior chapter.


	26. A Cruel Plan Revealed

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 26

Harry knew exactly what Hermione was suggesting, and he couldn't resist the opportunity to practice the spell on her, especially when doing so would have an immediate, practical benefit for a change. "Animalis Metamorphosis!"

Hermione's ears morphed into triangular fox ears on top of her head as light from Harry's wand enveloped her, but this time the ears became more prominent than on previous transfiguration attempts, since Harry was concentrating on making them more sensitive than normal. Her ears were so long now that they actually made her slightly taller than Harry.

After the light subsided, Hermione felt the tip of one of her ears with her hand, smiling a bit as she did so. Although she'd undergone this particular transformation several times already, she still found it exhilarating. It wasn't just the physical sensation that she enjoyed, but also the mere idea of her body being changed into something else, something that suited her personality, something that she thought was more attractive.

"Thanks, Harry." She joined him by the door to Snape's office and pressed one of her fuzzy ears up against it to listen in.

As Hermione leaned into the door, Harry put a hand on her shoulder. Hermione smiled slightly at the gesture, though Harry couldn't see it since they were facing the same direction.

-----

Snape returned to the chair behind his desk. "I apologize for the interruption; those two should have enough work to keep them out of the way for a while. Now, where were we...?"

"I believe you were going to explain the proposition you owled me about?"

"Ah, yes. Draco, a few weeks before the end of term, you expressed an interest in doing something to earn extra credit for Slytherin."

Draco nodded. "To get a head start on Gryffindor for next term, so we can reclaim the House Cup."

"A worthwhile cause. I believe I've found an appropriate project for you. I assume you're still interested?"

Draco leaned forward. "Very much so, Professor."

Snape leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers before continuing. "It seems that Hagrid has found a rather curious creature living in the Black Lake, though none but him have seen it. From his description, I suspect it might be a specimen of _Nessiteras rhombopteryx_." He paused.

Draco adopted a puzzled expression.

"Ever heard of the Loch Ness Monster, Draco?"

At that, Draco's eyes widened to saucers.

Snape grinned. "So you are familiar with it. Most cryptozoologists dismiss them as kelpies, but I'm inclined to believe that we have something much more—a genuine specimen that would make history if verified. If my hunch is correct, should we succeed in capturing the beast, not only would its head make a superb addition to the Malfoy Manner trophy room, but you might very well earn an award for special services to the school, since the creature would otherwise likely pose a danger to the student body. However, working together, we can take every precaution to minimize the risk to ourselves."

"Father would be so pleased...how do you suggest that we catch it?"

Snape stood up and retrieved a plant sample from a burlap sack lying on a nearby table, holding it out for the younger Slytherin to observe. "I retrieved these herbs from the Forbidden Forest...this species tends to be toxic to aquatic mammals, and is more effective if saturated with vanilla extract, of all things, since it supposedly improves the flavor and delays the effects so the beast will have a chance to eat more of it. I recently transplanted some of these plants to the lake's shore, hoping to poison the creature. When I last checked, however, they'd all been uprooted. Since I found no trace of a body, the beast may have somehow recovered, or else built up an immunity to the poison, or else it may be so large that I simply didn't poison it enough. In any case, we'll have to resort to more drastic measures."

"And that's where I come in?"

Snape nodded. "Together we'll brew an immensely powerful petrification potion and let the herbs soak in it for several days, then plant them around the lake as before. I suspect the creature is nocturnal, so we'll have to patrol the lake at night, in order to take action as soon as it's petrified. You can stay in my quarters here at Hogwarts for the duration; being on staff has its advantages, since I can have a guest without filing the otherwise requisite paperwork that might tip off the headmaster as to our activities. Somehow I doubt that he would approve of our methods. However, if we're successful, we can always claim that we killed the beast in self-defense."

Draco nodded. "I'm really looking forward to this. I'll have my house-elf bring my things over so we can start work immediately."

Snape smiled his approval of Draco's ready acceptance. "One more thing, Draco. Those two Gryffindor brats might pose a problem, so we'll have to be careful. Fortunately, they're subject to curfew, so they shouldn't get in our way after dusk, or else I'll have an excuse to put them in detention for the remainder of the summer."

At that, Draco grinned broadly. "Excellent..."

-----

Hermione tore herself from the door and ran to the other side of the potions lab, utterly disgusted and moved to tears.

Harry quickly caught up with her and took her hand. "What is it, Hermione? What are they discussing?"

It took a minute or two for her to calm down enough to respond to the question. "Harry, they're...they're planning to petrify and kill Bubbles and then add her head to the Malfoy trophy room. We've got to stop them somehow!"

Harry kicked a nearby workbench. "I knew he was up to no good! I take it we don't have much time, then?"

Hermione shook her head. "Probably within four days, I'd guess, since they're going to brew a powerful petrification potion first and let some herbs soak in it for a while. Harry, that's what Snape dug up from the Forest. It's a toxic plant, though from the sound of things Snape doesn't care about its inherent toxicity anymore, just the fact that Bubbles will eat it."

Harry sighed. "That doesn't give us long to devise a plan."


	27. A Clever Alibi

Someone to Keep Him Company

Notes:

I just found out that Emma Watson, the actress who plays Hermione, coincidentally owns a cat named "Bubbles". It's mentioned on her IMDB bio page.

--

Chapter 27

Hermione felt her ears revert to normal, though she couldn't blame Harry for losing his concentration, given how upset they were over Snape's plans. "Harry, we should try to make some progress at cleaning this place up, to keep Professor Snape off our backs. We can brainstorm while we work."

Harry reluctantly nodded and began filling up a wash basin.

Hermione went into a closet and retrieved a bucket of supplies, that might have looked at home in any muggle janitorial closet, were it not for the unusual labels to be found on the bottles it contained. She carried it back over to Harry.

"See if there's any _All-Purpose Scouring Solution_ left," Harry suggested. He was familiar with it due to having served detentions with Snape previously. "It's the only thing that'll work on most of the gunk in these cauldrons."

Hermione pulled out the requested bottle and read a label on the side. "'Warning: will cause hair, skin, and eyes to dissolve on contact.' Well, _that_ sounds lovely!" She handed the bottle to Harry, then retrieved some goggles, rubber gloves, and smocks from the closet as well. She then carefully tucked her hair down the back of her shirt as best she could to keep it all out of the way.

Soon they were working side-by-side as they scrubbed the cauldrons and set them aside to dry, an endeavor that would likely take a few hours.

"I wish Dumbledore were here," Harry lamented. "We should probably owl him."

Hermione nodded. "Unfortunately, he may not get the message in time."

"What about McGonagall?"

Hermione cringed. "We'd have to explain to her how we came to be in a position to find out about Snape's plans. Bubble's life is worth more than the reprimand we'd get, of course, but there's no guarantee that McGonagall would act to stop Snape, since technically, Bubbles is a potentially dangerous creature, even though we know she has a gentle disposition."

Harry sighed as he continued scrubbing a stubborn spot on one of the cauldrons.

"We could use your father's cloak and rip up the plants as soon as they set them out on the shoreline. But they'd soon catch on that something was amiss."

"Right."

Suddenly, Harry came up with another idea. "What if we fed a shrinking potion to Bubbles, and hid her in Gryffindor tower, until we could find out where she belonged?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment. "It might work. But, we'd need an awful lot of potion to pull that off. Both because Bubbles is fairly large...and because the potion would wear off after a while, so we'd have to administer it to her continually. We'd have a fairly large mess on our hands if she returned to normal inside the tower..."

"What if we transfigured her into something else?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think we could keep her transfigured long enough. We'd likely have to keep her hidden for several days."

Harry sighed again. "There has to be something we can do. This is so frustrating..."

"Every problem has at least one solution, Harry. It's just a matter of having enough time and creativity to find it." Hermione set her cauldron aside and picked up another one.

"You're right, of course. Unfortunately, time is in short supply."

They continued working for another half hour or so. After about a third of the cauldrons had been scrubbed, the door to Snape's office suddenly opened. Snape and Draco emerged from it and headed toward the storeroom.

Hermione leaned toward Harry and whispered, "Do you have your father's cloak with you?"

Harry glanced toward Snape and Draco to ensure that they weren't watching, then removed his gloves and un-tucked his shirt. Reaching under the back of his shirt, he produced the folded-up cloak and set it down on the workbench behind him.

Hermione removed her gloves and goggles and set them down, then Harry put his gloves back on and continued working.

Hermione picked up the cloak. "I'm going to the loo, I'll be right back," she said just loud enough for their adversaries to overhear. She then exited through the potions lab's main doorway.

Snape watched her disappear around the corner, then returned his attention to the storeroom. "Open," he commanded. The door obediently obeyed, and he stepped inside. "Draco, fetch a cart for me, will you?"

Draco gave Harry a suspicious glare, then found a cart and pushed it into the storeroom. Snape began pulling bottles down from the shelves and setting them on the cart.

Harry smirked, knowing precisely what Hermione was up to right about now. _She's got a clever alibi, they'll never suspect a thing..._

Snape seemed to take his time rummaging around. "Strange, I thought I had more dragons' toenails than that. Those are rather expensive. No matter, we'll still have enough to work with..."

A couple minutes later, Draco pushed the cart out of the storeroom, then Snape stepped out and closed the door and restored the magical lock on it.

Harry noticed this, then started to panic. _I hope she got out in time..._

Draco wandered over by Harry and inspected one of the cleaned cauldrons. "I think you've found your calling, Potter. Oh, look, you missed a spot!"

Harry gritted his teeth. "Why don't you keep your nose in your own business for a change, Malfoy?"

"Draco," Snape called out. "We have work to do, come with me."

Draco elbowed Harry in the back as he walked past and returned to the cart, then Snape and Draco headed back to Snape's office, but not before Hermione reappeared in the main doorway and rejoined Harry. "Sorry I took so long, Harry. I think I ate something that didn't agree with me."

Draco snickered at the remark as he closed the office door behind him.

Once they were again alone, Harry turned to face Hermione. "Did you get what we needed?"

Hermione grinned. "Mischief managed."


	28. An Experiment

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 28

Harry and Hermione spent another hour cleaning in Snape's potions lab before they decided they'd made enough progress to warrant calling it a day, and return to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione wasted no time setting up a makeshift lab in Harry's dormitory, so they could brew the concentration potion using the supplies she "borrowed" from Snape's storeroom. Harry sat on his bed as he watched her work, not wanting to get in her way.

Hermione leaned over to peer into the cauldron as the liquid it contained began to bubble, then began cleaning up the surrounding area, apparently satisfied. "If we leave this brewing overnight, it should be ready by tomorrow morning," she announced.

Harry nodded. "I'm still not entirely sure how this will help us to save Bubbles," he admitted.

Hermione took off her shoes and sat down on the opposite end of Harry's bed, facing him. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I haven't worked out all the details yet, but I'm certain this will give us a certain degree of flexibility that we wouldn't have otherwise. Just trust me for the time being."

Harry shrugged. "All right..."

"Now, just in case we _do_ end up resorting to shrinking bubbles to hide her, using the spell instead of a potion--since using huge quantities of potion would be a bit impractical--I'd like for us to practice shrinking each other. Then after the concentration potion is finished brewing, we can try this again, to get an idea for how effective it will be when used in combination with the spell."

Harry arched an eyebrow, not entirely keen on the idea, but he realized that practicing it would potentially be useful. "All right. But what about our clothes? They won't change with us..."

"I've got that covered. There's a simple charm that temporarily makes one's clothes fit perfectly, and I'm willing to bet that it will adjust accordingly as one changes size." She produced her wand and waved it at Harry, casting "vestis decorus!" (1). Instantly, his sleeves and pant legs lengthened a bit. Then she cast it on her own clothing, with similar, but less-dramatic effects, since she hadn't grown as much as he had during the prior school year.

"Clever, as usual. Do you want to go first? Shall I clear your mind?"

Hermione nodded, and Harry cast "clarus mentis" on her.

Hermione closed her eyes and felt the now-familiar, peaceful sensation of floating in a black void. She made a mental note to try having someone use that spell on her in the future whenever she had difficulty sleeping. Her mind successfully cleared now, she opened her eyes and cast "animalis metamorphosis" on Harry.

Harry found himself surrounded with bright light, and closed his eyes. At first he didn't feel anything happening, but then he felt a bit light-headed, and so he leaned his head forward between his knees to try to recover from it.

Finally, Hermione reached out to hold him at the shoulder. "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry opened his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just feeling a bit..." He stopped mid-sentence as he noticed how huge Hermione's hand was on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and his eyes widened to saucers.

Hermione snickered. "You look less than two feet tall. I imagine you probably weigh only four or five pounds now." (2)

Harry looked beside him and saw that his wand appeared three times as big as it should've been. "Apparently your clothes-fitting charm doesn't apply to wands," he observed. But at least it worked with his glasses.

"Right. Wands tend to resist being charmed in any way," Hermione explained. "Now, I'll clear your mind and you can try shrinking me. Try to make me as small as you can." She then cast "clarus mentis" on him.

After Harry prepared himself, he lifted his wand with two hands, then cast "animalis metamorphosis" back on Hermione.

Hermione closed her eyes and felt a similar light-headed sensation, only a bit more intense. Her clothing felt loose for a moment, but it eventually caught up with her, and she opened her eyes, and she craned her neck to look up at Harry. The tables were now reversed. Although Harry was still only about 22 inches tall, Hermione was only about a third of that. (3) "Eep," she squeaked.

Harry stood up and walked over to the other end of the bed and picked Hermione up as casually as one might pick up a baby, then set her down again, and sat himself down in front of her.

"This is surreal," Hermione commented. "And totally disorienting. You're obviously quite a bit more powerful than I am," she observed. "I gave it all I had when I shrank you, and I'm exhausted now."

Harry shrugged. "I'm not that tired, either."

Hermione nodded. "Now I'm even more curious as to how much smaller we can get if we use the concentration potion before casting that spell, and how effective this will be on Bubbles if it comes to that."

"As it is, I think you could probably sneak past just about anyone without being noticed, at your size," Harry commented. "We'll have to keep this in mind the next time we need to spy on Snape." He snickered.

Hermione arched an eyebrow at the thought. "At this size, I'd only leave Gryffindor tower if I was sure I wouldn't bump into Filch's cat. I'd rather not think of what might happen otherwise."

"You've got a point there," Harry conceded.

---

"vestis decorus" is, literally, "clothes fit" in Latin, but it's probably not conjugated correctly. All of the spells I invented for this story are based on actual Latin words.

If Harry was about 5'6" before and 22" now, that's 1/3 as tall, and 1/27 of his original weight (1/3 times 1/3 times 1/3), because weight is proportional to volume. I know it's counter-intuitive that he'd be so light. Just trust me.

Likewise, if Hermione was about 5'3" before and 7" now, that's 1/9 as tall, and 1/729 of her original weight (1/9 times 1/9 times 1/9). She weighs practically nothing now, less than 3 ounces.


	29. Some Promising Clues

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 29

Satisfied with the success of their shrinking experiment, Harry and Hermione decided they had nothing to lose by writing a letter to the headmaster:

--

Professor Dumbledore,

There is a large creature living in the Black Lake, possibly a specimen of nessiteras rhombopteryx, that we know to be of good temperament. Hagrid named her 'Bubbles'. We overheard Professor Snape discussing plans to poison her very soon. We're trying to think of a way to hide and protect her. Please advise.

H. Granger  
H. Potter

--

Hermione read the letter aloud to Harry.

Harry nodded. "That sounds good to me. I can't think of anything to add to that."

Hermione rolled up the letter and attached it to Hedwig's leg. "Hedwig, will you take this to the headmaster for us? It's very important."

Hedwig squawked and flapped her wings for a moment before turning around on her pedestal and then taking off through the open window of Harry's dormitory.

"Now what should we do?", Harry inquired.

Hermione got off Harry's bed where she'd been sitting, then stretched and walked over to inspect the cauldron that was being used to brew the concentration potion. "I think I'd like to head to the library again. Maybe we can find out something about the behavior of Loch Ness Monsters that will help us."

Harry scrunched up his brow. "I thought you said all the references in the library dismissed them as kelpies..."

"Yes, but that was before we knew of the scientific name that Professor Snape used to refer to Bubbles. Armed with that bit of information, we might be able to find some more references. We can also check the periodicals."

"It's worth a shot, then."

They laced up their trainers and headed downstairs.

--

The afternoon passed slowly. Harry was tired, and sat opposite Hermione at one of the study tables, resting his head in his folded arms. He silently watched Hermione as she flipped through book after book and magazine after magazine, occasionally jotting down notes whenever she found a promising citation or tidbit of information.

Harry smiled a bit when he saw Hermione biting her lower lip in concentration, and idly twirling her hair. He wasn't sure why, but he thought her prominent front teeth were somewhat cute. He found her little habits like those to be very _Hermione-_like and endearing. Harry could remember her fidgeting like that in the common room quite often while she studied and he and Ron were playing wizard's chess.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Listen to this. Apparently there's a cryptozoologist by the name of Talbot who's spent his life trying to locate and study these creatures. He says his observations support the theory that Nessies, as he calls them, are matriarchal...each group will have only one female that's mature enough to become pregnant, and she determines where the group will live."

"That's interesting, but...how can we use that to our advantage?"

"I'm not sure. But this researcher seems to be the best lead we've got so far. Now I can search for any articles published under _his_ name."

"Maybe we could write to the guy," Harry suggested.

"We may end up doing just that." Hermione then stood up and walked over to the periodicals section again, while Harry waited at the table.

Harry decided to take a moment to write another letter to Ron:

--

Ron,

Draco is here at the school. It gets worse. He and Snape are planning to poison Bubbles. Hermione and I are trying to think of a way to stop him. Will write more as things develop. No chess move yet, sorry.

Harry

--

Of course, he'd have to use one of the school's owls instead of Hedwig, since she was still en route to wherever Dumbledore was. He resolved to visit the owlery after they were done in the library.

Hermione returned to the table with an issue of _Cryptozoology Monthly._ The cover article was titled "The Mating Habits of Western European Thestrals", and the cover photo supposedly contained a thestral, but of course, only those who had witnessed death could actually see the beast on the cover...everyone else could only see a grove of trees.

"Find anything?", Harry asked, hopeful.

"Possibly." Hermione flipped open the magazine to the inside back cover, then quoted, "Professor Talbot has not been seen or heard from since venturing to Loch Shiel last year, in search of what he thought to be an isolated community of Loch Ness Monsters." She closed the issue and looked at the front cover. "This is last month's edition. So Talbot's probably still missing...or worse..."

Harry frowned. "I hope the guy's all right. What's this _Loch Shiel_?" (1)

"I checked the map. It's about fifty miles from here, so it's possible that Bubbles started out there, but somehow became lost and ended up here."

"So, if we can't find a way to hide Bubbles, then we should try to get her back to that loch somehow."

Hermione bit her lip again, deep in thought for a moment. "That could be difficult. Bubbles can't be very old, so there's a distinct possibility that she's spent most of her life in the Black Lake, which means she'll probably be reluctant to leave."

"Not to mention that if we take her to Loch Shiel, we'll have to leave the school grounds," Harry added.

"Well, we kind of assumed that was a given from the start of this whole ordeal."

Harry nodded. "Wait a minute, what makes you think Bubbles is young?"

Hermione glanced down at her notes. "Talbot says the largest Nessie he's found was some 120 feet long, from the head to the tip of the tail. Bubbles can't be more than half that."

Harry's eyes widened as he contemplated that. "Even Hagrid would hesitate before going near a beast that size."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Think about what you just said."

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You're right. Hagrid would probably give her a silly name like 'Buttercup' and ask Dumbledore if he could keep her..."

--

(1) In the Harry Potter films, Loch Shiel is used to represent the Black Lake. I'm using artistic license to suggest that it's a distinct loch that happens to be close to Hogwarts.


	30. A Change of Plans

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 30

The following morning around 5 o'clock, Harry was awakened by a knock on his dormitory door. _Who could that be at this hour?_ He clumsily reached for his glasses, then rolled out of bed and groggily shuffled across the cold, hard floor to see who it was.

Hermione. In pajamas. She was practically bouncing on the balls of her bare feet as Harry cracked open the door. "Hi, Harry. I'm sorry if I woke you, but I was really eager to check the concentration potion and possibly test it out."

Harry was no longer upset at having been roused; he was more than happy to let Hermione in. As far as he was concerned, every minute he got to spend with her was worth losing an hour of sleep. He opened the door wider to permit entry. "Sure, come in."

Hermione slipped inside and walked over to where she'd set up her apparatus the previous day.

Harry crouched down and peered under his bed to find his slippers, then put them on and joined Hermione by her side.

Hermione took a sniff of the brewing potion, then compared its color and consistency against the instructions from her book. "Excellent," she whispered to herself. Apparently satisfied, she put out the fire beneath the cauldron, and proceeded to pour its contents into ten small vials that she'd previously labeled. "We just need to let the potion cool down a bit, and then we can test it."

Harry rubbed his eyes, not yet fully awake and alert. "So...you said yesterday that you wanted to try shrinking each other again to get an idea of how powerful this stuff is?"

Hermione turned and looked up at him with a slightly mischievous smile. "Actually, right now I have a better idea that I'd like to try."

"Oh?" Harry's curiosity was piqued.

"I'd like to try using the potion in conjunction with the metamorphosis spell and the mind-clearing charm. Since we've been practicing the spell for a bit, and can achieve a partial transformation with it, I think with the help of the potion, we should be able to reach a full transfiguration."

"That would be great, if we could pull it off," Harry began. "But are you sure it's safe, though? Combining a potion, spell, and a charm all at once?"

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that usually _my_ line?"

Harry smirked. "Well, I've been hanging around you a lot. I suppose you're starting to rub off on me, or something. I guess I should know better than to doubt your suggestions, though. You're always one step ahead..."

Hermione blushed, slightly embarrassed. She experimentally touched one of the vials to estimate its temperature, then picked it and one other vial and carried them over to an empty space on the floor and sat down cross-legged.

Harry found a couple pillows and tossed one to Hermione before sitting down himself. "So, how do you want to proceed?"

Hermione took a moment to think things through. "So far, you've had better luck transforming me than vice-versa. If you can't transform me, then there's no point in me trying to transform you, since it would be better to save the potion for something else. But if you can transform me, then after I revert to normal I'll try to transform you. So you go first."

Harry nodded. "All right."

"I'll clear your mind. Then, when you're ready, drink this vial, and you know what to do after that."

Harry nodded, and adjusted his posture to get comfortable, and closed his eyes.

Hermione raised her wand towards him. _"Claris mentis!"_

The charm made Harry feel slightly less groggy as stray thoughts left his mind. As before, he rather enjoyed the sensation of floating that it gave him. After a moment, he opened his eyes and swallowed the contents of the vial...it was a clear, thick liquid that tasted slightly sweet.

Five seconds later, Harry felt wide awake and completely alert, as if he'd just had twelve hours of sleep instead of six. "Wicked!", he couldn't help but exclaim. The potion was making him think so fast and so focused, that time seemed to slow down around him. He could hear Hermione's breathing from four feet away, as if his hearing had just become that much more sensitive.

He leveled his wand at Hermione and intoned, "_Animalis metamorphosis!"_

A torrent of bluish-white light erupted from Harry's outstretched wand and enveloped Hermione in a bright sphere. Then the transformation began.

It all happened so quickly. Hermione felt her visual acuity sharpen. Her ears migrated to the top of her head and grew sensitive. Her canine teeth elongated. Whiskers sprouted from her nose. Her jaw lengthened. Her arms and legs slimmed down. Her chest shrank. A bushy, white-tipped tail sprouted behind her. Her hands and feet shrank into paws and turned black. Reddish-brown fur sprouted all over her body. And her entire body shrank noticeably, so that her weight closely matched that of a typical fox. The sensation of each change was exhilarating. In concert, the combined effect was overwhelming.

Hermione, completely transfigured for the first time, was now indistinguishable from a real fox in any way.

Harry closed his eyes to rest a moment...doubtless, the magic had drained him considerably, but he looked as if he would be fine.

She paused to catch her breath. Her heart was beating much faster now, not just from the excitement of her transformation, but also because of her naturally faster metabolic rate. _This is amazing! Everything seems so different now... _She hesitantly rose from the cushion and stepped forward, but was caught by her pajamas._ It'll take some adjustment to get used to this new body._

When Harry re-opened his eyes, he gasped at what he saw, then reached forward to help Hermione out of her now ill-fitting clothing. When she was free of it, he smiled down at her. "You're beautiful, Hermione," he said softly. "Not that you weren't before, I mean. Look in the mirror." He gestured to a full-length mirror by the door.

Hermione turned her head as Harry suggested, and marveled at her reflection for a moment, turning around once to see her whole body. Then she returned her attention to Harry, and took slow, deliberate steps toward him, until she was practically in his lap. Then she nuzzled and licked his face.

Harry chuckled at the gesture, then reached out again to hold his vixen close to him.


	31. Thinking Ahead

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 31

After getting over the initial excitement of accomplishing their first complete transformation, Harry leaned back against the frame of Ron's bed to rest from casting the spell.

In response, Hermione rested her head on Harry's thigh. She was still a bit tired herself, given the early hour of the day, but she was simultaneously more excited than she could ever remember being, even besting the day that she received her invitation to Hogwarts.

Harry reached forward and, experimentally, gently scruffed the brown fur of Hermione's neck. He wasn't quite sure how to treat a human in fox form, and was mildly worried that petting her would offend her (as it could be taken as an expression of dominance), but she seemed more than content with the attention he was giving. Despite the innocence of the act, it was also, strangely, the most intimate moment that Harry had ever shared with someone else. The isolation and abuse he'd suffered from his experience with the Dursleys was completely out of his mind. Even the problem of saving Bubbles from Professor Snape and Draco seemed remote. Right now, all he wanted in the world, was to be with Hermione.

After a little while, Hermione got up and practiced walking on four legs, and quickly progressed to exploring the dorm with her heightened senses. Everything seemed new to her. She'd always been a curious person, of course, as this was what fueled her insatiable reading habit and produced her keen intellect. However, something seemed different about her.

Perhaps it was just in Harry's mind, but Hermione's curiosity seemed somehow magnified as she studied her surroundings. In that sense, she was now more Hermione than ever before, as if her transformation had filtered, purified, and liberated something that was already there, some intangible spirit of wonder. It was endearing to him, to see her enthusiasm in sniffing something so mundane as a musty old book.

Harry rose and led Hermione down to the common room, where there was more space for her to stretch her legs. There, she practiced leaping from one item of furniture to the next, occasionally tipping over an armchair or table.

At some point, this progressed into a game where Harry tried to catch Hermione. She would occasionally pause and wag her thick, bushy tail, taunting him, then dart off the moment he got close to her. Despite her initial clumsiness, she quickly learned how to control her new body, and it was soon readily apparent that she was considerably more agile than any human could hope to be.

They were having so much fun from this that they completely lost track of the time. When the clock struck eight o'clock, Hermione took notice, and dashed up the spiral staircase back to the boys' dormitory. Harry followed, thinking she was still playing.

But when he reached the dorm, Hermione was sitting on his bed, and made no move to evade him any further. He sat down beside her. "Are you tired?", he asked.

Hermione shook her head from side to side.

Harry was confused for a moment, but then the smell of warm food wafted into the dorm, and understanding hit him like a brick. "You were afraid the elves would see you when they served breakfast, weren't you?"

Hermione nodded in the affirmative.

Harry stood up and walked over to the door. "I'll close the door and let you revert to normal, so you can get dressed, then we can eat." He closed the door behind him and returned to the common room.

One thing that struck him when he reached the bottom of the stairs, was that the elves had apparently righted all the furniture they'd tipped over while playing.

Hermione joined him a minute later, again in her pajamas, and made the same observation. "Oops," she said, smirking.

"You don't think we'll get in trouble for making a mess, do you?", Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "The elves are accustomed to straightening out the furniture. Though we probably caused them to scratch their heads in puzzlement, since we've never left them a mess to clean up before since summer vacation started. Come on, I'm starving..."

They had breakfast together. Herminone seemed to be contemplating something as she ate.

"Something on your mind?", Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "I was just thinking about what I'll transform you into after we're done eating."

"Oh? I assumed you'd try the lion as before...?"

"True, that's what I planned initially, but it occurred to me that it would be quite unusual to come across a lion in the U.K. So, I was thinking of practicing transforming you into a different animal, one that wouldn't arouse as much suspicion, should you be seen. I mean, if you were all right with switching."

Harry was curious now. "No, I'm not opposed to switching. What did you have in mind?"

Hermione leaned forward in her chair. "How about a wolf? Wolves and foxes can both be found in the Forbidden Forest, should we ever go there in animal form."

Harry was at once agreeable. "That makes a lot of sense. I'm fine with switching."

"Wolves and foxes are also both in the family canidae," Hermione added. "We'd be more similar, yet still distinct enough to have different advantages."

Harry nodded. "How long do you think we'll have to practice with the concentration potion before we're able to pull off these transformations unaided?"

Hermione chewed on a piece of bacon before answering. "I'm not sure. But I've come to the conclusion that that our first successful transformations will become the easiest ones to repeat, both as spell-caster and as target. So I wanted to be absolutely certain that you're agreeable to being a wolf."

Harry blinked. "Yes, I'm sure I'd be content as a wolf. But why are you so concerned about being 'absolutely certain'? We can always transform each other into different animals later on, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but..."

"But what?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "This is just a theory of mine, but I'm starting to think that if we were to master this spell, and practice often enough, there's a slim chance that we could gain the ability to transform at will..."

"You don't mean..."

Hermione nodded. "We could become true animagi. But, the animals we become as animagi, would be constrained to our most powerful memory of being transformed in the past. And since the first complete transformation is bound to be the most powerful memory...well, you see where I'm going with this...I'm probably constrained to being a fox animagi, if I become an animagi. Not that I'm complaining, because I think it's perfectly suited to me. Normally, the animal that a wizard becomes as an animagi is unpredictable, but if I'm right, and I usually am, our practicing will have a strong influence on that process."


	32. Tripping Over His Own Paws

Someone to Keep Him Company

Note: I'm sorry this is a bit short, but I couldn't think of anything substantial to add to this important scene.

---

Chapter 32

After breakfast, Harry and Hermione were eager to resume their practicing, so they wasted no time in returning to the boys' dormitory.

Harry entered the room first, so he could disrobe, and cover up with a blanket before Hermione joined him. This way, he wouldn't get tangled in clothing once transformed, as Hermione had been. He sat down at the head of his bed, covered up so only his head and arms were exposed.

After a few minutes, Hermione knocked at the door to warn that she was entering. She set down a hand mirror on the bed, then located the vial of concentration potion that she'd previously set aside, and joined Harry at the opposite end of the bed, facing him. "I'm ready when you are," she announced.

Harry nodded and proceeded to cast the mind-clearing charm on Hermione, then removed his glasses and set them and his wand down on his nightstand. Those items wouldn't do him any good in animal form, after all.

After recovering from the disorientation from the charm, Hermione removed the cork from the vial and downed its contents. She experienced the same effect that Harry had when he used it earlier, and rather enjoyed the sensation. After a moment of mental preparation, she cast the metamorphosis spell on him.

At once, the familiar ball of blush-white light enveloped Harry. He felt his ears migrate to the top of his head, his jaw lengthen into a muzzle, and his canine teeth become significantly more pronounced. His eyes turned yellow. Fur sprouted all over his body, predominantly black (matching his original hair color), with some other shades of gray present in small amounts. His hands and feet grew into paws, with the smallest digit on each merging with the adjacent one, and his limbs shortened. Harry's transformation took longer than Hermione's earlier.

Hermione slumped forward for a moment, feeling lightheaded from casting, but quickly recovered enough to straighten herself and inspect her work. "Harry...wow, you've got big paws..."

Harry was now a large black wolf. He liberated himself from the blanket, then looked down at his huge front paws, then up at Hermione again.

Hermione extended a hand towards him.

Harry sniffed it, then licked it...and his prominent fangs were exposed for the first time.

Hermione smiled, then reached for the hand mirror and held it up for him to inspect his reflection. "Take a look at yourself."

But the moment Harry saw himself, he froze, trembling.

After a moment of confusion, Hermione realized what was happening. _He's overwhelmed, and in shock._

Hermione put the mirror down and reached out to hold Harry, to calm him. "I'm right here, Harry. You're OK, don't panic." _I could return him to normal, but doing that prematurely might cause problems later on, should he need to rely on his memory of being transformed. If he's ever to become an animagus, I have to make this memory pleasant for him._

Harry curled up. He was still trembling, and now whimpering a bit.

Hermione laid down beside Harry and wrapped her arms around him. _I have to do anything I can to calm him._ "Shhh," she cooed.

Harry buried his muzzle in her neck.

Hermione gently stroked his fur. "Shhh, everything is fine. You're handsome, Harry, if I do say so myself. You just need to get over the shock of being transformed." _I wonder why I didn't experience any significant shock. Maybe it was because Harry had been transforming parts of me into a fox for a while already, and I looked forward to it so much that I even started having dreams about it, so it just seemed like a natural progression to me._

Over the next few minutes, Harry stopped trembling. After he calmed down, he licked Hermione's cheek.

Hermione giggled, then sat up and kissed the top of Harry's head and scratched him behind the ears. "Feeling better, I see."

Harry hopped down from the bed and practiced walking around on all fours. He stumbled several times, but was making some progress.

Hermione moved to the floor and sat down, so she could watch him at eye level. "With you tripping over your own paws, maybe I made them a bit too big?"

Harry eventually returned to Hermione, and curled up across her lap.

"Oof, you're heavy!" She took the opportunity to return the back-rub that Harry had given her earlier. "You remind me a bit of Padfoot..." Bringing up Sirius' alias gave her an idea. "Harry, I was thinking...what if we gave each other secret names, like the Marauders did? You could be _Timber_. What do you think?"

The wolf lifted his head and licked Hermione's face, his tail wagging.

Hermione laughed. "I guess that's a _yes_." She scruffed his neck. "I love you, Timber."

--

There are now over 300 very patient people with this story in their "alert" list. Thank you.


	33. An Unexpected Source of Inspiration

Someone to Keep Him Company

Note: In case anyone didn't make the connection, Hermione's secret name for Harry, _Timber,_ isn't arbitrary; it's suggestive of his future animagus form, _timberwolf_, but like the Marauders' names, it's still ambiguous enough to not have an obvious meaning to anyone.

Chapter 33

Harry liked the sound of his new name, perhaps all the more so because it was Hermione who had picked it. He realized that having secret names for each other would help them feel closer in one way or another. Could that have been her motivation in suggesting the idea? He began trying to think of a name for Hermione that would be just as special.

Hermione scratched behind Harry's ears. "Timber," she said, trying the name out again, "I don't feel energetic enough to finish cleaning the Potions lab this afternoon, and I doubt you do, either, so I think we should instead work on our Potions homework."

He whimpered at the suggestion, because it involved the subject he hated more than any other.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can put it behind us and forget it," she reminded. "Besides, while we're working on it, we can think of a question to ask Snape, and use that as an excuse to visit his office and see how far along he's come in preparing his poison for Bubbles."

It was a plausible way to spy on Snape. Harry reluctantly nodded and got up on all fours, freeing Hermione to stand, as he had been laying across her lap on the floor.

"I'll take a shower, and meet you in the common room in half an hour," she announced before stepping through the door and heading down the spiral staircase.

Seconds later, Harry felt his body grow warm as he began to return to his normal human form. He was glad to have privacy during the change, since he'd be embarrassed to appear naked before Hermione...he wasn't quite ready for that yet, it would be far too awkward.

Before dressing, he sat down on the edge of his bed to collect his thoughts. He tried to think of a name for Hermione, but nothing sprang into his mind; apparently, the effects of the concentration potion had worn off.

His thoughts drifted, and he imagined Hermione taking her shower. A picture formed in his mind, and he dwelt on it for a couple minutes. Thinking about Hermione's curves aroused certain feelings that he hadn't really ever felt before. Looking down, he blinked in surprise, confusion, and mild alarm. Something was happening that he wasn't accustomed to, something that his father had never had a chance to explain...certainly Vernon Dursley, his pathetic excuse for a surrogate father, would never have broached the subject with him. He wondered how long it would take to return to normal, or even if it ever would at all.

--

Hermione sat waiting in the common room for some time. While she waited, she read some more from the thick tome from which they'd gotten the metamorphosis spell. She had to admit that most of the book's content was too advanced for her to contemplate doing in the near future, but she viewed it as more of a multi-year challenge, one that would prove her capabilities as a witch.

The sound of shuffled footsteps caught her attention, and she looked up to see Harry descending from the staircase.

"What took you so long? I was starting to get worried..."

Harry blushed a bit. In truth, he'd merely waited until things had returned to normal so he could get dressed without discomfort. He tried to think of an excuse for his procrastination. "Um, something came up. Nothing important..."

"Oh? Did you get a reply from Ron?"

"Er, no...I just needed some time to collect my thoughts. I think I was a bit overwhelmed." He hoped she wouldn't inquire further.

Hermione nodded, assuming he meant he was overwhelmed by the experience of transforming. She patted a cushion on the floor beside her.

He took the offered seat, noting that Hermione had already set out their books, notes, and fresh parchment.

"We've got to make a chart of each ingredient we'll be learning about next term, along with their properties," she explained. "How about if you write down the properties of the A-through-M ingredients, and I'll do N-through-Zed, then we'll compare notes?"

Harry nodded, and started on the A's. There was a list at the beginning of the book: Aconite, Armillaria, Asphodel...

After writing down the names, he began flipping through the glossary.

_Aconite. An alternative name for Monkshood and Wolfsbane. A tall flower belonging to the Buttercup family; can bear blue, purple, yellow, pink, or white flowers. Active ingredient in several werewolf-related potions. If consumed in sufficient quantity by a werewolf prior to the full moon, will allow subject to maintain sanity during transformation. However, if consumed in sufficient quantity by a werewolf during the full moon, will kill the subject. Poisonous. Use extreme caution when handling._

Harry couldn't help but be reminded of Professor Lupin again, as well as his future animagus form. He glanced up at Hermione. Her quill was scratching out perfectly-formed letters that put his own writing to shame. He quickly returned his attention to his work when he noticed her glancing back at him.

_Armillaria. Alternative name for honey mushroom. A parasitic fungus responsible for the "white rot" on decaying wood. Creates a phosphorescent glow in forests known as foxfire._

Harry paused and re-read the definition, and thought for a moment. Inspiration had struck. "Hermione?"

"Mmm-hmm?", she inquired, still biting her lip in concentration.

"What do you think about _Foxfire_ as your secret name?"

She paused her writing. "A form of magic used by kitsune in Japanese mythology?" She sat upright again. "That's so appropriate!"

Harry blinked, dumbfounded. "I didn't know it meant that," he said, honestly. "And what's a kitsune?"

"A mythical fox demon," she explained. She paused, thinking. "Were you instead thinking of the 'eerie forest glow' definition?"

He nodded, feeling a bit humbled. _Is there anything she doesn't know? _"Yeah, but I like your definition better."

Hermione smiled. " Actually, both definitions are good. I don't think I could've asked for a better name." She leaned towards Harry and gave him a hug. "Thank you."


	34. A nearly perfect afternoon

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 34

It was turning out to be a beautiful day, so Harry and Hermione decided to finish their Potions assignment in the shade of a tree by the lake, and have a picnic while they were at it.

After carefully checking their work for errors, Hermione had an accomplished smile on her face. She carefully folded her parchment and tucked it inside the cover of her textbook.

Harry stretched, then then folded his work as well, but more haphazardly, not bothering to get the creases straight. "You don't know how glad I am to be done with this," he said, sloppily jamming it in the middle of his book. He laid back on their blanket and crossed his arms behind his head, looking up at the clouds.

Hermione scooted closer, then laid down herself at right angles to him, resting her head on his stomach.

Harry wasn't expecting that, but he wasn't about to object to it either. Truthfully, he was glad that she felt comfortable being that casual around him. He liberated one of his hands to play with her hair, and smiled contentedly.

"I think we should tell Ron," she said softly. "If we tell him now, then he'll have the rest of the summer to adjust to the idea. Better that he gets any anger out of his system while he's far removed from us, I think."

Harry sighed, not really wanting to think about Ron just then. "You're probably right. I'm not looking forward to writing that letter though," he admitted.

Hermione thought for a moment. "I'll write it. It really should be me, I think. I'll just have to ponder about it for a while. The words will eventually come to me."

"No objections here," Harry consented, glad to have that burden off his shoulders as well. "I'm sure you could put it more eloquently than me."

_Than I_, Hermione thought to herself, deciding it was better to not correct him. Instead she just said, "Thanks."

The perfect weather and gentle breeze made it so comfortable that they soon fell asleep to the sound of each other's breathing.

Soon Hermione was dreaming again of herself as Foxfire, running freely through the Forbidden Forest, with Timber chasing after. He finally caught up with her and playfully tackled her to the ground. Then he was on top of her, and they were nuzzling and licking each other's faces without a care in the world...

_A voice. _Harry partially opened his eyes, and glanced down at Hermione's head on his stomach. _She has Fox ears again? And how'd it get so dark so fast? Have we really been napping that long?_

Thud!

"Ow!", Harry jumped, instinctively raising his hand to a sore spot on his forehead.

Hermione awoke with a start. "Harry? What's wrong?" Then she saw an apple on the ground beside them. She picked up the fruit and examined it, raising an eyebrow in the process, then inclined her head to look into the tree's canopy. "This _isn't_ an apple tree," she announced.

They looked around, and about thirty feet away was none other than Draco Malfoy with his wand raised. He started laughing, apparently having just used a levitation spell on the apple.

"You're a right foul git, Malfoy!", Harry yelled at him. He glanced to Hermione. Her ears were normal again; he hoped Draco hadn't gotten a clear view of Hermione in her partially-transformed state.

Hermione turned and brushed Harry's hand away so she could see where the fruit hit him. "Don't let him get you wound up," she said softly. "That's exactly what he wants." She paused for a moment, then added, "You'll have a nasty bruise from this, I'm afraid."

Draco turned and hurried off to somewhere else on the grounds, where he met with a taller figure that they couldn't see clearly.

"That's probably Snape," Harry said. "And look, he's carrying something."

Hermione reluctantly turned her attention away from Harry's forehead and towards Draco and the other figure. They were now drawing closer. "It _is_ Snape," she confirmed. "And I think he's carrying the poison. I didn't think he'd have it ready so soon!"

Harry and Hermione stood up fully to face their adversaries. At that moment, the clock tower began chiming.

Snape paused before them once he drew near. "Detention for the both of you for breaking curfew. A pity," he announced in his monotone voice.

Draco snickered at his side.

Hermione stared wide-eyed and pale-faced at the clock tower. "Harry, it's seven o'clock already!"

Harry sighed.

"If I were you," Snape continued, "I'd hurry back inside before your punishment gets extended."

Harry ground his teeth together, silently uttering a few choice words in his mind, then reluctantly bent down to pick up their blanket, picnic basket, and books. He took Hermione's hand and led the way back towards the castle without a word of protest, knowing that objecting would only make things worse.

"Why did we sleep for so long?", Harry asked, perplexed.

"It might be a side-effect from this morning," Hermione suggested. "Using the potion, charm, and spell at the same time, I mean. Sorry, I didn't anticipate anything like that happening."

When they reached the castle wall, they paused and turned around to look for Draco and Snape, but they were out of sight.

"We'll have to act quickly," Hermione urged. "There's no telling how soon they might find Bubbles! We should go back up and get the cloak and concentration potion..."

"And then?", Harry asked.

"And then we improvise," she stated matter-of-factly. "We haven't a moment to lose."


	35. The Climactic Rescue

Someone to Keep Him Company

Notes:

I've been planning this chapter for the longest time; it's the main climax to the story. Accordingly, it's longer than my usual fare, nearly 3,000 words instead of the usual 1,000. Surprisingly, it was also among the easiest to write, as the words kept flowing, since I knew exactly what had to happen in it. I hope you like it.

The Black Lake is actually a loch. Evidence for this includes the map JKR made for the production staff of the film adaptation of Prisoner of Azkaban, and the fact that Loch Shiel (in Scotland) has been used in the films as a stand-in for the Black Lake. Now, the term "loch" can be used to mean either a self-contained lake, OR a sea inlet. For the purposes of this fic, I'm going to use the "sea inlet" definition. In order to not break canon (Harry and Hermione once walked around the lake three times in one of the books), we'll just pretend there's a bridge that crosses the loch at its narrowest point, far from the castle. Using the "sea inlet" definition also makes sense since it allows for the Durmstrang ship to easily visit Hogwarts in book 4. And it gives a way for Bubbles to have arrived where she is now...

I'd like to thank my patient readers for sticking with this story. If you like this chapter, please leave a review. Reviews keep me motivated to write more.

Chapter 35

Harry and Hermione raced up the moving staircases until they reached the portrait at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

The Fat Lady smiled at the pair. "Password?"

"Greasy Git," Harry answered. As the only inhabitants of the tower, they had the ability to change the password at will, and they had done so the very day that Snape made them promise to scrub his cauldrons.

The Fat Lady bowed, and her portrait swung open to permit entry. The pair wasted no time in running up to Harry's dormitory.

Harry quickly rummaged through his trunk to find the cloak, while Hermione looked for something to contain the eight remaining vials of concentration potion. She peeked under Harry's bed, and found a wadded-up, Gryffindor-themed sock, red with narrow yellow stripes. "This will have to do," she said.

"One of my lucky socks?"

Hermione blinked. "What do you mean, _lucky_?"

"Professor Dumbledore gave it to me...you know how he likes to knit, right? I've been wearing that pair during all my Quidditch games..."

Hermione rolled her eyes, then stuffed the vials in the sock and took Harry by the hand as she led the way back downstairs.

Once they reached the entrance hall, they threw the cloak around them, and then set off towards the lake, still unsure of how they were going to save Bubbles.

They walked for what seemed like half an hour. It was getting uncomfortably warm under the cloak. Fortunately, there was ample moonlight to see by. They didn't want to risk being spotted for using a lumos charm.

"You realize, whatever we do, we'll probably get found out," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. "Being a Gryffindor means having the courage to do the right thing, even when it has undesirable consequences," she replied. "I'm willing to help Bubbles even if it earns us a year of detentions."

"There's nothing I wouldn't be willing to do with you at my side," Harry admitted. Then he swallowed. "Bloody...I didn't just say that out loud, did I?" His cheeks turned beet red.

Hermione's heart swelled. "Oh, Timber...!" She stopped in her tracks and tugged at her companion, forcing him to turn to face her, and then she reached up to firmly hold him by the shoulders. Without a moment's hesitation, she stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the lips.

Harry was at first startled by this, then instinctively wrapped his arms around her.

"Foxfire...", Harry said softly. "That was...amazing."

Hermione smiled back up at him. "Then, perhaps we can continue this later when we have more time. Let's keep looking."

"Way to encourage me," Harry said.

--

Another half an hour went by before they heard a familiar voice, and sped towards it.

"Oy, yeh silly creature," Hagrid said as he tossed a plump fish into the air.

Bubble's neck gracefully appeared from behind a rock outcropping in the water, and caught the fish.

Harry and Hermione pulled off part of the cloak so their heads were visible, seemingly floating in mid-air. "Hagrid!", they said together.

Hagrid turned and jumped when he saw their heads. "Blimey, yeh two nearly gave me a heart attack, yeh did..."

"Hagrid," Hermione began, "Snape and Draco are somewhere around the lake. They're going to try to poison Bubbles and kill her tonight..."

Hagrid nodded solemnly. "I ran into 'em earlier. Professor Snape said I'd best stay out of 'is way. Figured thas' what they were up to. I don' know what to do...she's too big to hide. Do yeh two have any ideas?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a moment. Then Harry spoke up. "Actually, we do. We know a spell that _might_ be able to shrink her...but if it works, the effect will be temporary."

Hagrid looked unconvinced. "But..."

Hermione liberated herself from the cloak completely, then pulled Harry's sock out of her pocket and extracted one of the vials. As she handed the vial to Harry, she said, "You know what to do."

Harry nodded, and pulled the rubber stopper off the vial.

Hermione pointed her wand at Harry. "Claris mentis!"

Harry closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, and downed the contents of the vial. After he began to feel its effects, he turned to face Bubbles, and pointed towards her with his wand. "Animalis metamorphosis!" Bluish-white light erupted from Harry's wand and enveloped Bubbles.

"Thas' not gonna work...", Hagrid said, confused.

"Just watch," Hermione replied.

Harry continued to direct his wand at Bubbles...but, as Hagrid predicted, nothing happened. Bubbles looked back at him with curiosity.

"I don't think it's working," Hermione finally spoke up.

Harry sighed, and stopped casting the spell. Bubbles looked no worse for the wear. "Why didn't it work?"

"Don' yeh know that most spells don' work on magical creatures? If they did, then anyone could just walk up to a dragon an' use the killin' curse on 'im. Thas' why dragons are so feared, and why they're used to guard precious things...there ain't no spell that can stop a dragon in it's tracks, or a creature like Bubbles, for that matter."

Hermione blinked. "Of course! How could I have overlooked something so fundamental like that...? I'm so stupid...!"

Harry looked at Hermione quizzically. "But you made her vomit before...?"

"That's different," Hermione explained. "My spell wasn't trying to change Bubbles, like yours was. I was just inducing a simple reflex action in her."

Harry sighed. "What are we going to do now? Snape and Draco could spot her any minute, and we're too far from a cove to hide her in."

Hermione thought for a moment. "Well..."

Harry and Hagrid looked at her oddly. "If you have an idea, I'm all ears," Harry prompted.

Hermione seemed hesitant to say what it was. "I do have an idea, but it's going to sound a bit...drastic."

Harry blinked. "Drastic problems call for drastic solutions."

Hermione swallowed. "Bubbles _is _a mammal. Think about it."

Harry turned to look at Bubbles. "I thought she was a sea serpent?"

Hermione shook her head. "Remember feeling her breath? It was warm. And she has a very thin layer of hair, just like a dolphin."

Harry had an idea where this was going. "You want me to turn you into...a Loch Ness Monster?"

Hagrid stared at them, speechless.

Hermione nodded to Harry. "Remember when we read that they're matriarchal? They follow the oldest and largest female in the group. Bubbles is just a child...if we could convince her that I'm older than her, she'd probably follow me. We could lead her out of the Black Lake, and take her to Loch Shiel, where she'd be safer."

Harry turned to look at Bubbles yet again. "Hermione...Bubbles is _huge. _There's no way I could pull that off with one vial..."

Hermione nodded. "I know. You'd probably have to do this in two stages...use three vials to change and hold my shape, and..."

Harry blinked. "And...?"

Hermione sighed. "And the other four to enlarge me sufficiently."

Hagrid stared at them wide-eyed. "Can yeh really do that?"

Hermione turned to give Hagrid a reassuring smile. "Unless one of you has another option..."

Hagrid shook his head.

Harry pondered the implications. "Won't this be dangerous, though? What'll happen if I lose my concentration while we're in the middle of the lake...?"

"I think, after downing eight vials, being able to concentrate won't be a problem," Hermione said confidently. "We'll have to hurry, though."

After a minute of thinking about this crazy idea, Harry finally relented. "All right. Let's get started, then."

Hermione handed her wand and the remaining seven vials of potion to Harry, then stripped off her outer layers of clothing, and waded into the water beside Bubbles. Once she was out far enough, she turned to face Harry and Hagrid again. "Ready when you are," she announced, trembling a bit, not entirely convinced that this would work at all.

Harry exchanged glances with Hagrid. "Please don't tell anyone what you're about to see, Hagrid."

Hagrid nodded. "O' course."

Harry then proceeded to swallow the contents of three more vials, one at a time. His head felt really funny after that; the world around him was brought into sharp focus, and he could distinguish the faint sounds of many different creatures in the nearby forest without any difficulty whatsoever.

"Here goes nothing," he said, pointing his wand at Hermione. "Animalis metamorphosis!"

Bluish-white light enveloped Hermione, and she felt extremely disconcerted as her body shifted into a most unfamiliar shape. Her arms and legs morphed into rhombus-shaped fins...her body seemed to bloat drastically, and her neck lengthened. A prominent tail erupted from her posterior...after thirty seconds, the transformation was complete. She looked just like Bubbles, only much smaller, as she hadn't gained any weight yet.

Harry paused for a moment. "Are you all right, Hermione?"

Hermione looked down at her body as she began to familiarize herself with her newfound shape, flapping her fins in an undulating rhythm to keep herself afloat. Then she looked back up at Harry and nodded.

Harry took a deep breath, then began downing the remaining four vials of concentration potion, tossing them aside as he emptied them. His brain felt like it was swimming in the stuff, and he was sure he'd feel a bit loopy before long. Finally, he directed his wand once more at Hermione. "Animalis metamorphosis!"

This time, a spectacular torrent of energy erupted from his wand, so powerful that the recoil knocked him on his back. He propped himself up and held his wand with both hands to keep it focused on his target. The bluish-white light now resembled a continuous, crackling bolt of lightning, and all three had to squint their eyes to keep from being blinded by it. Even Bubbles turned her head away from it.

The force of the spell also was pushing Hermione backwards in the water. Newton's third law, and all that. She felt something powerful building up inside her, then she felt like she was going to explode.

And explode she did, in a sense. She began growing at an alarming rate, so fast that she was causing the water to ripple. So fast, in fact, that her belly quickly made contact with the lake's bottom, and she could feel the sharp rocks beneath her scraping against her skin and scratching her...something she hadn't anticipated.

Harry and Hagrid couldn't see the effect of the spell until Harry had run out of energy, due to the brightness of it. He collapsed, and Hagrid helped him back up. Then they turned to look at Hermione.

As huge as Bubbles was, Hermione was easily twice as big, over a hundred feet from her nose to the tip of her tail.

Hagrid looked up in awe at Hermione, and looked like he was going to cry. "Blimey, she's beautiful!" Then as an afterthought, he added, "Not that she wasn't before, o' course!"

Harry also inclined his head, feeling more than a bit insignificant now.

Hermione lowered her head and nuzzled Harry, eliciting a chuckle from him.

Bubbles now regarded Hermione with sudden and intense interest, and started swimming towards her.

Noticing this, Harry smiled a bit. "You know, I think this might actually work..." He draped the invisibility cloak around him, then climbed up onto Hermione's neck, and slid down to where her neck met her massive body. "Don't worry, Hagrid, we'll find a safe place for Bubbles!"

Hagrid waved to them. "I know you will," he said. "I'll miss you, Bubbles..."

Bubbles regarded Hagrid for a moment, then lowered her head to nuzzle Hagrid's chest. Hagrid, in turn, patted Bubbles's nose. "Go on Bubbles, follow Hermione!"

Hermione began pushing herself backward into deeper water. At first, her movements were somewhat jerky as she was scraping the bottom of the lake, but then she got the hang of it, and managed to turn around without throwing Harry off. She nuzzled Bubble's neck to draw her attention away from Hagrid.

Bubbles looked up at Hermione, then began swimming towards her.

Hermione smiled at Bubbles, then looked forward, and started swimming towards the mouth of the loch.

And Bubbles followed her without question.

--

As they got farther out into the water, they found Snape and Draco in a boat. Upon closer inspection, Harry realized it was one of the boats that the first-years traditionally used when they arrived at Hogwarts to be sorted.

Harry was glad he was under the cloak. "Foxfire, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Hermione seemed to smirk. She lowered herself in the water so that she was completely under, but Harry's body was still above water.

"Professor, look over there!" Draco exclaimed, pointing to Bubbles' protruding head and neck.

Snape adjusted his posture and watched through a pair of binoculars as Bubbles approached them. "Excellent...Draco, hold out some of the poisoned plants. If my hunch is correct, the creature will readily eat them from your hand without a second thought. Remember, it's used to Hagrid, so I think it'll trust any human now."

Draco did as he was told, and held a delicious-looking, leafy branch out for Bubbles. "Here you go, you stupid beast...that's right...come to Draco..."

Then Draco looked down where Harry was, seeing only what looked like an approaching hole in the water, because Harry was under the cloak. "Professor, what in Merlin's beard is _that_?!"

"Eh?" Snape lowered his binoculars, and squinted at the anomaly. "Most peculiar..." Then he saw a dark shape beneath the water, and his eyes instantly widened to unprecedented proportions.

And then, Hermione majestically rose out of the water, mere feet from the boat.

Snape and Draco fell over backwards due to the wave that Hermione created, and clung to the boat to stabilize themselves.

Snape's face lost all color, not that he ever had anything but a pasty-white complexion. "Draco! The poison!"

Draco nodded, then stood up and shakily raised his arm to offer the plant to Hermione now, instead of to Bubbles.

Hermione then grinned very evilly at Draco, and licked her teeth.

Draco promptly wet his pants.

Snape began raising his wand into a defensive posture in a smooth, deliberate, slow motion so as not to startle the beast before him.

Harry had the foresight to tighten his grip on Hermione's neck. "Watch out," he whispered to her.

Hermione then dipped her head back below the water.

Draco and Snape looked all around them, trying to anticipate her next move.

But it wouldn't have done them any good. Hermione raised her neck beneath the boat, lifting their adversaries high into the air. Snape dropped his wand, and he and Draco clung onto the boat's edge for dear life.

Hermione bounced them up and down for about a minute, then she decided enough was enough, and flung the boat off to the side, letting its occupants fall out into the deep water. Draco screamed, and it was music to Harry's ears.

Hermione then approached Snape and Draco, licking her teeth some more. They promptly adopted the most terrified expression imaginable, and turned around and swam towards the lake's shore with all the speed they could muster.

"Well done," Harry said, patting Hermione's neck.

Hermione nodded, then began moving again in the direction they were originally headed, with Bubbles following close behind.

As they approached the bridge near the mouth of the lake, an unexpected figure apparated onto it and looked down at them.

Harry blinked. "Professor Dumbledore?!"

Hermione paused before the bridge, and Harry lifted the hood of his cloak.

Dumbledore smiled. "I got your message. I regret that I couldn't come sooner," he said. "I don't agree with what Professor Snape was trying to do, but it _was_ within his right to remove a potentially dangerous creature from the school, so there was little I could do to stop him in any event. I suggest that you take Bubbles to Loch Shiel, if you know where it is...Oh, and by the way, that's a most excellent disguise, Miss Granger. You almost had me fooled."

"How did you know...", Harry began to ask, but he gave up. "We're one step ahead of you, Professor."

Dumbledore seemed to have a twinkle in his eye. "I presume that you haven't told Professor McGonagall what you're up to?"

Harry shook his head.

"I'll have a little chat with her regarding your excursion outside the anti-apparation barrier. Oh, and I'll take care of the brooms and thestrals so Professor Snape and Young Mr. Malfoy won't be able to follow you."

Harry blinked. "What's a thestral?"

Dumbledore winked at him. "You'll find out, in time. You'd best continue on your way. Be careful, you two."

And with that, Dumbledore snapped his fingers, and Fawkes, his pet phoenix, appeared in the air above him, and swooped down to pick him up.

Hermione turned her long neck to exchange confused glances with Harry.

Harry shrugged.

And they continued on their way.


	36. An Unusual Breakfast

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 36

With Hermione transfigured into a Loch Ness "monster", and Harry riding her back and Bubbles trailing not far behind, they travelled into the night and on to the next morning. At some point, Hermione wasn't quite sure when, Harry had fallen asleep, arms clinging to her serpentine neck...but somehow, her transfiguration persisted. She surmised that the great quantity of Concentration Potion that Harry had imbibed was causing him to hold the spell. Likely, he was now dreaming about her being in this state. Somehow, that thought caused her to smile. Well, as much as a Loch Ness Monster can approximate, anyway.

Hermione's eyes widened upon hearing a great rumbling sound. It soon dawned upon her that she was hungrier than she could ever remember being. Swimming for twelve hours, compounded by her substantial bulk, required a tremendous amount of energy. In retrospect, she wondered how she'd managed to get as far as she had without eating or resting.

As the dawn broke, Hermione turned her head around to ensure that Harry hadn't fallen off, and that Bubbles was still behind. That done, she turned and led Bubbles into a cove, where they stopped to rest in the shallow water by the shoreline.

Bubbles immediately started making a strange sound, almost like a low-pitched whale song, that caught Hermione's attention. The creature then began dipping her head below water and catching some fish, one at a time, then gracefully raising her head up out of the water to swallow them. She made it appear quite natural, and showed no sign of slowing down.

Hermione observed Bubbles' feeding technique with curious fascination. While the idea of consuming raw fish really didn't set well with her, her alternatives were extremely limited--they were far from home, with no provisions for cooking food, certainly not in the quantities that Hermione would need. Harry couldn't simply transform her back to human form, since they hadn't reached their destination yet, and transfiguring her back into one of Bubbles' kind after eating would require an additional spell, which would now alert the ministry to their location (1).

Hermione reluctantly exhaled in some semblance of a sigh as she resigned herself to eating in the same manner, and began to emulate Bubbles, catching the fish and swallowing them whole one-by-one.

Harry was promptly awoken by Hermione's neck movements. Seeing where they were, and what his friend was doing, Harry silently slid down Hermione's side and made his way to the shoreline.

Once Harry was off her back, Hermione didn't have to be quite as careful as she continued to feed. She found the fish were surprisingly abundant and easy to catch, but couldn't fathom why that was.

"Careful, if you keep eating like that you're bound to put on a lot of weight," Harry joked while witnessing the two large creatures before him having "breakfast".

Hermione rolled her eyes, and playfully flung the fish currently in her mouth at him.

Harry caught it, but then dropped it due to its slipperyness and flopping around. "What am I supposed to do with this?", he called back.

Hermione paused her feeding and extended her long neck over the shore, then tilted her head down to pick up a dry tree branch, which she summarily deposited at Harry's feet.

Harry understood. He'd have to make a fire and cook that fish himself...but without the use of magic.

---

A couple hours later, they were underway again. With a full stomach, Hermione found it easier to maintain her pace, and Bubbles showed no difficulty in keeping up with her.

"This is kind of fun, isn't it? It's like our first holiday together," Harry said, holding tightly to Hermione's neck in a manner suggestive of a hug and not merely holding on for dear life.

Hermione smiled inwardly at the word _first_, which suggested that there would be more...which suggested that Harry was thinking ahead to a future together. She wondered if they might possibly get married after graduating from Hogwarts. The thought made her feel warm inside.

And then something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Bubbles was passing her.

Hermione looked up towards the direction Bubbles was headed, and did her best to keep up. Bubbles was smaller and more agile, and able to swim astonishingly fast, much faster than Hermione could manage. Then they saw what Bubbles had seen...

Not far ahead of them was a pod of six creatures just like Bubbles, only bigger...but still smaller than Hermione. And upon the back of one of them, was a curious-looking man.

--

(1) Due to the trace that helps to enforce the restriction for underage wizardry. Read book 7 if you're curious about how it works.

And yes, I know this chapter is waaay overdue. Sorry! I'll try to get chapter 37 out in a couple days.


	37. One Mystery Solved

Someone to Keep Him Company

Chapter 37

As Harry and Hermione approached the man riding the other (and presumably real) Loch Ness creature, Harry reached into his clothes in preparation to draw his wand defensively in case he needed it, even if using it here meant they'd draw Ministry attention. There was no telling what the stranger might be up to.

"Well, hello there!", the other fellow called out before lifting his flat cap and waving it for Harry's benefit. The monster he was riding came to a stop when Bubbles reached it, and the two beasts nuzzled each others' necks in greeting. "I'm afraid I don't see many visitors up here. Absolutely fascinating creatures, aren't they? And what a fantastic specimen you've got there! Wherever did you find these two?"

Harry relaxed; obviously the man wasn't an immediate threat. He was dressed in a beige overcoat, and appeared to be about 50 (in Muggle years). "Hello sir," Harry replied as Hermione came to a stop alongside.

The other man's creature stopped nuzzling Bubbles and immediately looked up at Hermione, whose neck was far longer. Hermione dipped her head and emulated the greeting she'd just observed. The rest of the creatures slowly approached Hermione and Bubbles as well.

Harry wasn't sure if the man was a wizard or a muggle, but given the situation, he didn't feel the need to avoid speaking about magic. "My friend and I are trying to take Bubbles--the small creature beside us--back to her family. Can you help us?" As he asked this, he looked up and saw several more creatures' serpentine necks looming high above him, making him feel a bit uneasy.

The man glanced down to Bubbles briefly, but seemed more interested in Hermione at the moment. "Perhaps," he said noncommittally. "Come, let's pull up to the shore and discuss your situation, shall we?" He tapped his creature's neck and gestured with his hand for Harry to follow.

Hermione nudged her way through the crowd of Loch Ness monsters and made her way to the shore. As they got into more shallow water, Harry heard a scraping sound beneath him, as if a boat had run aground. Hermione lowered her neck to the shore, and Harry slid down. Bubbles pulled up between Hermione and the other creature.

The other man landed similarly and stepped forward to shake Harry's hand while looking in Hermione's direction. "By the size of your friend there, I'd estimate she's what, 70 years old at least?"

Hermione snorted, and Harry could feel the blast of warm breath. He smirked. "No, sir, you don't understand. Hermione's not--"

But the man interrupted him. "Wait--don't tell me--Nessiteras Rhombopteryx Giganticus?"

Harry looked confused. "Excuse me?"

Finally, the man turned to face Harry and gave him his full attention. "You're a fellow cryptozoologist, aren't you? Though I suppose you do look somewhat young. A junior assistant, perhaps?"

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. I'm Harry Potter--I'm just a student! And you are...?"

"Professor Talbot, I presume?", came a powerful, but unmistakably female, voice. (1)

Surprised, Harry and the man turned their heads toward the source of the voice, and looked up, only to see...Hermione.

Hermione was again in human form, with one arm crossed in front of her chest to protect her modesty, as her clothing had disintegrated previously when Harry transformed her into one of Bubbles' kind. Her other hand was covering her abdomen, which appeared to be badly scraped, and bleeding. Everything below her navel was beneath the water, though she appeared to be seated.

But there was another problem. Hermione was still the size of a large Loch Ness creature.

Professor Talbot dropped his hat. "Great merlin!"

Harry's eyes grew as wide as ever. "Hermione!? What happened?!"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Apparently, the first transformation spell you cast on me has worn off, but not the second. Since you drank three vials for the first spell and four vials for the second...I'm guessing I'll be stuck like this for quite a while longer. And if you don't mind, could you two please face the other way?"

"Oh--right!" Harry quickly turned around, and took the liberty of standing between Hermione and the other man.

"This is ever so embarrassing," Hermione added, exasperated.

--

(1) See chapter 29 for the first mention of Profesor Talbot.


	38. A Job fit for a Squib

Someone to Keep Him Company

Note: I am well aware that this chapter is a) unacceptably overdue and b) unacceptably short. I have a short attention span and believe me, I find it more frustrating than you do. My interests cycle so fast that rarely do I have enough time to work on a project before I lose interest in it. I think it's due to some weird neurological disorder. I will try to finish up this story soon, then move on to my other neglected fanfics. Thank you for your patience.

This chapter explains a bit about Professor Talbot's background, something that I'd intended to include for a long time. I thought it was clever, myself.

If you leave a review, I ask that you please make it constructive. Tell me what you like and what you didn't like (other than the shortness of the chapter). Some reviewers have taken to leaving the same generic review after each chapter, and those aren't at all helpful.

Chapter 38

"Of—of course, young miss," Professor Talbot said before turning to face away from Hermione.

Harry promptly turned as well. "Are you badly hurt?", he asked, because of the blood he saw on Hermione's abdomen.

Hermione looked down to examine the scrapes. "Yes, they're just minor scrapes, from the rocks when I got to the shoreline," she answered. "When you concentrated to transfigure me, you probably didn't know to make my skin thick and tough enough," she explained.

Harry winced, realizing his error. "I'm so sorry, 'Hermione."

Hermione shook her head, though Harry couldn't see it. "No, you didn't know. It's not your fault. All in all, you did a fantastic job. You even had Professor Talbot convinced."

Talbot glanced to Harry. "Mr. Potter, I must say, that's the most remarkable transfiguration I've ever seen. Not that that's saying much."

"Um, thanks," Harry replied. "Wait a minute…Professor, could you cast a healing charm on her, to stop the bleeding?"

"He can't, Harry," Hermione jumped in. "Professor Talbot is a squib. But I'll be fine, really."

Harry blinked, and turned to look up at Talbot, surprised. "You're a squib? Really?"

"Unfortunately, your friend is correct," Professor Talbot answered. "You see, as a squib, I would normally have been condemned to live a rather mundane life among muggles, but when I learned that conventional magic doesn't work on most magical creatures anyway, I realized that as a cryptozoologist I would not be at a disadvantage to any wizard. With Professor Dumbledore's help, I was granted access to the Ministry library, where I studied all the available literature on magical creatures. And thus began my career."

Hermione smiled. "Professor Talbot found a way to be a productive member of wizarding society without the ability to perform magic himself."

"That's brilliant!", Harry said. "You've done much better than another squib I know."

"Thank you," Talbot replied. "Er…what should we do now?"

Harry shrugged. "All we can do is wait for Hermione to return to normal, and then find a way back to Hogwarts without alerting the Ministry to our whereabouts."

Talbot blinked. "Hogwarts? Isn't school out of session?"

Harry reached up to run his hand through his unkempt hair. "Well, yes, but…It's a long story."

"Do you think the other Loch Ness creatures will accept Bubbles into their pod?", Hermione inquired.

Professor Talbot glanced toward the shoreline where the monsters were congregating. "I believe so. She's young enough that she won't affect the pod's pecking order, so they should accept her as one of their own. Had Bubbles been older, re-integration would've been more difficult without splitting the pod into two smaller ones."

Hermione sighed in relief, creating a light wind that blew Harry's hair forward a bit. "I'm so glad we found you, Professor." Looking down, Hermione scooted herself into deeper water, so that everything below her neck was submerged. "I suppose you two can turn around now," she said, her modesty now protected.

Harry and Talbot turned to face her, still in awe at her size.

"This is…surreal," Harry mused.

Hermione smirked. "More embarrassing than surreal, if you ask me."

Talbot fingered his chin. "Seeing as there's nothing we can do but wait, are either of you two hungry? I confess that I got carried away with my research today and skipped breakfast."

"Er, no thanks," Harry replied.

"Umm, I think I probably ate a few hundred pounds of fish this morning," Hermione confessed. "I'm quite full." She looked down into the water and rubbed her belly.

Harry stared at his friend wide-eyed. "That's gross, Hermione."

Hermione glared back at Harry and splashed him. "Well, I was hungry! What was I supposed to do?"

"Sorry, sorry!", Harry quickly apologized, not wanting to anger his girlfriend, who could be quite intimidating even when normal-sized.

Professor Talbot quirked an eyebrow. "What will happen to the fish you've eaten when you return to normal size, miss Hermione?"

Hermione turned to face Talbot with a blank stare. "Oh dear. I hadn't thought of that!"


End file.
